Most people consume caffeine every morning or even at noon in the form of a cup of coffee. But how much caffeine is too much? Christopher Drake and his colleagues addressed this question in their research.
The study was prompted by numerous recommendations from all areas of research regarding the optimal number of hours of sleep per night. There has been a great deal of research on sleep habits and how to optimize them, but no one had previously looked at the effects of the amount of caffeine administered at different times of the day on later sleep.
This study therefore looked at the potentially sleep-disrupting caffeine and its effects. For this purpose, the researchers divided their subjects into two groups. The first group received a caffeine dose of 400 mg, which was to be taken either 0, 3 or 6 hours before bedtime. The control group was given a placebo. Both groups were asked to document their sleep habits and possible changes using a sleep diary and were simultaneously monitored during sleep using a wearable sleep monitor.
The results of the study confirmed the previous assumption that caffeine does have an effect on the subjects' sleep quality. A moderate dose of caffeine had significant effects on sleep both 0, 3 and 6 hours before bedtime. This shows that caffeine can cause significant sleep disturbances even 6 hours before bedtime. The results support researchers and physicians in recommending the intake time as well as dose of caffeine in adults and provide access to a new field of research.
Citation
- Drake C; Roehrs T; Shambroom J; Roth T. Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(11):1195-1200.