Rise & Grind & Drink Caffeine?

Adapted by: Jack Haselhorst

Jack Haselhorst

He/Him/His

Wellness Center Substance Peer Educator

WOW! That’s me!

Be Gentle.

SLEEP & CAFFEINE

BODILY EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE

WHAT HAS CAFFEINE IN IT?

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Learning Objectives

How much is "too much"? What should be my intake, if any?

The different bodily systems caffeine acts on & how it impacts different areas of wellness

Specifically, how caffeine impacts our natural sleep cycle

How Much Caffeine?

*The "recommended" dosage of caffeine per day is 400 mg.

*But, everybody is different.

*And, for pregnant women their intake is limited to 200 mg per day.

What Has Caffeine in it?

Coffee

Pop/Soda

Energy Drinks

Tea

*6 p.m.: Oh yeah, I can drink this cage latte.

Kombucha

Chocolate, especially dark

Some Medications

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What Should My Intake Be?

Caffeine Intake

Prevalence of Caffeine

*Unfortunately, no St. Olaf Specific data. However, let's do a poll!!!

Bodily Effects of Caffeine

*Caffeine is absorbed in the GI tract within 60-90 mins of consumption.

*Increases one's chance of bone loss or decreased bone density.

*Increases blood pressure.

*Excessive caffeine intake can cause nausea, headaches, anxiousness, hypertension, & restlessness.

*Increased urination. Can also help keep the bowels regular, but too much can have the adverse effect (diarrhea).

*Caffeine can have adverse effects on pregnancies (low birth weight, increased chance of miscarriage).

*Withdrawal

Bodily Systems Impacted

• Nervous System
• Digestive System
• Cardiovascular System
• Muscular System
• Reproductive System
• Skeletal System

Emotional Wellness & Mood

Coffee costs $$$ (Financial Wellness)

Exercising & Staying Physically 'Healthy"

Study: Faster but Not Smarter

• Participants received a dosage of caffeine at 11:15 am, then another at 12:45 pm. They took an online test to check their motor performance.
• Groups:
• Non-Low Consumers (less than 40 mg/day)
• Medium-High Consumers (more than 40 mg/day
• *Each group was split up into either receiving caffeine at the dosage times, or the placebo at the dosage times.
• Scales:
• Sleepiness
• Anxiety/Jitteriness
• Mental Alertness
• Reaction Time
• Recognition Memory

*As we can see here, both motor performance and mental performance were measured.

Results

*For both Non-Low and Medium-High, it's expected caffeine increases reaction time.

*Medium-High with Caffeine showed no benefit for mental alertness nor performance - due to their habit.

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*Non-Low with Caffeine showed decrease in sleepiness, but no change in alertness due to the jitteriness which made it hard to concentrate.

*Consumers of caffeine can expect a motor performance gain, but no benefit in intelligence nor retention.

Results

For Non-Low consumers, it was found that a 75 mg dose of caffeine provided larger benefits than the full 150 mg dose.

Dependence vs. Addiction

*Although caffeine has a low potential for abuse, frequent

caffeine consumers become dependent as the withdrawal of caffeine causes adverse affects (lowered alertness, slower mental performance, and headaches).

SLEEP & CAFFEINE

Stage 1 = Light Stage Sleep

Average time spent in this stage is 7 minutes. Eye movements slow down and you are easily woken up and still somewhat alert.

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Stage 2 = Light Stage Sleep

Sleep spindles produced, brain waves slow down.

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Stages 3&4 = Slow Wave Sleep

The "deep" sleep. No eye movements nor muscle activity. This is the restoration stage. It is said to repair muscles & tissues, stimulate growth & development, boost immune function, and build up energy for the next day. Harder for you to be woken up because you're less responsive to outside stimuli in this stage.

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*These stages are all NREM Sleep (Non-Rapid Eye Movement).

Stages of Sleep:

Stage 5 = REM Sleep (Rapid-Eye Movement)

This is when dreaming occurs! Heart rate and blood pressure increases, breathing rate increases, and eyes jerk in different directions. Brain becomes more active. This stage is key in learning & memory function because it is said that the brain consolidates information from the previous day to (hopefully) store it in long-term memory.

*Most adults have 5-6 REM cycles / night.

*So, if you wake up dreaming, this is a good thing!

Important! REM Sleep usually occurs 90 mins after 'falling asleep'

***Generally, the sleep stages are sequential!

From the Studies:

• In caffeine withdrawal, participants noted better sleep quality & the ability to fall asleep quicker just two nights after stopping.
• Sleep efficiency (amount of time sleeping vs. amount of time in bed) was reduced in consumers of caffeine.
• Caffeine intake less than or equal to 60 mins before bed caused the most disruption to sleep.
• Insomnia (taking more than 20 mins to fall asleep & waking up throughout the night) was increased in habitual caffeine consumers compared to variable consumers.

Caffeine & The Sleep Cycles

Caffeine intake causes changes within the homeostatic sleep cycle!

The duration and frequency of wakefulness, arousal, & Stage 1 sleep increase earlier in the night.

*Even when caffeine saliva levels were near zero/zero before bed.

As the dosage of caffeine increased, the time spent in SWS decreased.

This is at the expense of Slow Wave Sleep!

Decreased time in SWS

Less time for the body to recover & potentially fewer REM cycles

Balance your caffeine intake with water intake to maintain hydration

Monitor your intake for a couple weeks to see how much you drink, when you drink it, and how you feel when you do!

Replace caffeinated beverages with other beverages (juice, milk, decaffeinated options, etc.)

Tips & Tricks

Take time to reflect on why you drink caffeinated beverages :-)

"Caffeine Fading" = cutting caffeine by 1/2 cups per day.

Be mindful of the process! It takes time to break habits or change them.

Wellness Center Specific Resources

*Make a self-care plan that directly provides you with resources for yourself when school gets overwhelming

- This will help with prioritizing sleep & ensuring caffeine does not become a "go-to" late night study buddy

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*Come on in for a one-on-one!

- https://wp.stolaf.edu/wellness/

*Email me - I'm happy to answer questions!

- haselh1@stolaf.edu

Sources

“Foods with Caffeine.” Sleep.org, 8 Feb. 2020, www.sleep.org/foods-with-caffeine/.

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Rogers, P.J., Heatherley, S.V., Mullings, E.L. et al. Faster but not smarter: effects of caffeine and caffeine withdrawal on alertness and performance. Psychopharmacology 226, 229–240 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2889-4

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Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, Marco Vinicio Ramirez-Mares, Impact of caffeine and coffee on our health, Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 25, Issue 10, 2014, Pages 489-492, ISSN 1043-2760,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2014.07.003.

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Ian Clark, Hans Peter Landolt, Coffee, caffeine, and sleep: A systematic review of epidemiological studies and randomized controlled trials, Sleep Medicine Reviews, Volume 31, 2017, Pages 70-78, SSN 1087-0792, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2016.01.006.

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“Understanding Sleep Cycles.” Sleep.org, 10 July 2020, www.sleep.org/what-happens-during-sleep/.

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“Slow Wave Sleep.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, www.nature.com/subjects/slow-wave-sleep.