Impact of daily caffeine intake and timing on electroencephalogram-measured sleep in adolescents.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Caffeine use is ubiquitous among adolescents and may be harmful to sleep, with downstream implications for health and development. Research has been limited by self-reported and/or aggregated measures of sleep and caffeine collected at a single time point. This study examines bidirectional associations between daily caffeine consumption and electroencephalogram-measured sleep among adolescents and explores whether these relationships depend on timing of caffeine use.

METHODS

Ninety-eight adolescents aged 11-17 (mean =14.38, standard deviation = 1.77; 50% female) participated in 7 consecutive nights of at-home sleep electroencephalography and completed a daily diary querying morning, afternoon, and evening caffeine use. Linear mixed-effects regressions examined relationships between caffeine consumption and total sleep time, sleep-onset latency, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and time spent in sleep stages. Impact of sleep indices on next-day caffeine use was also examined.

RESULTS

Increased total caffeine consumption was associated was increased sleep-onset latency ( = .13; 95% CI = .06, .21; < .001) and reduced total sleep time ( = -.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -.31, -.02; = .02), sleep efficiency ( = -1.59; 95% CI = -2.51, -.67; < .001), and rapid eye movement sleep ( = -.12; 95% CI = -.19, -.05; < .001). Findings were driven by afternoon and evening caffeine consumption. Reduced sleep efficiency was associated with increased afternoon caffeine intake the following day ( = -.006; 95% CI = -.012, -.001; = .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Caffeine consumption, especially afternoon and evening use, impacts several aspects of adolescent sleep health. In contrast, most sleep indicators did not affect next-day caffeine use, suggesting multiple drivers of adolescent caffeine consumption. Federal mandates requiring caffeine content labeling and behavioral interventions focused on reducing caffeine intake may support adolescent sleep health.

CITATION

Lunsford-Avery JR, Kollins SH, Kansagra S, Wang KW, Engelhard MM. Impact of daily caffeine intake and timing on electroencephalogram-measured sleep in adolescents. . 2022;18(3):877-884.