Too Jittery to Sleep? Temporal Associations of Actigraphic Sleep and Caffeine in Adolescents

Abstract

Caffeine consumption has been linked to poor sleep health in adolescents, but it is unknown whether poor sleep predicts caffeine consumption, and/or whether caffeine consumption predicts poor sleep, particularly when sleep is measured objectively. Data were collected from a micro-longitudinal sub-study of the age 15 wave of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 589). Adolescents wore an actigraphy device and completed daily surveys for ~1 week. Daily surveys assessed subjective sleep quality and caffeinated beverage consumption (0 = no caffeine, 1 = any caffeine). Separate mixed models assessed whether actigraphy-measured sleep duration, timing, maintenance efficiency, and subjective quality predicted next-day caffeinated beverage consumption within and between adolescents. Variability (standard deviation) of sleep duration and timing, sleep regularity index, and social jetlag were tested as additional between-person predictors. Lagged models tested whether daily caffeinated beverage consumption predicted sleep that night (n = 458). Adolescents with more variable sleep duration and midpoint had higher average odds of consuming caffeinated beverages compared to others. After adolescents consumed ≥1 caffeinated beverage, they had later sleep onset that night and wake time the next morning than usual versus when they did not consume caffeine. Curbing caffeinated beverage consumption may aid in the maintenance of regular sleep schedules and advance sleep timing in adolescents.

Sleep and energy drink consumption among Norwegian adolescents – a cross-sectional study

“…A vicious circle could accordingly be established where ED consumption leads to less sleep which then again entails increasing ED consumption resulting from tiredness. This is plausible and in line with other studies when considering the caffeine content in ED and its known effects on sleep [ 10 , 13 ]. In addition, the association found in our study suggests a dose-response relationship.…”

“…According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), adolescents have an increased chance of sleep latency and reduced sleep duration when consuming 1.4 mg/kg bodyweight of caffeine [ 12 ]. Indeed, the study by Mathew et al showed that on the days that adolescents consumed caffeinated beverages they had a more variable sleep duration and timing of sleep [ 13 ].…”

The role of caffeine in headache disorders

“…The animal studies above suggest that this may be primarily due to a shift in sleep onset with no opportunity to compensate by 'sleeping in', rather than an effect of caffeine on sleep quality. A delayed onset of sleep and REM sleep is consistently observed in human studies of caffeine [11], but laboratory studies with EEG have found that chronic stable caffeine use has no effect on sleep architecture or perceived sleep quality [12].…”

The association between social jetlag and poor health and its (nutritional) mechanisms

“…These are for example unhealthy food choices, as described in the paper by Al Khatib et al (high non-milk extrinsic sugars and low fibre intake), but also by others (12)(13)(14)(15) . Additionally, social jetlag is associated with high caffeine intake in teenagers (16) . In addition to poorer food choices, social jetlag is thought to increase sedentary behaviours as shown in our own small cross-sectional study, in which those with social jetlag had lower physical activity levels (17) , confirmed by Alves et al (18) Moreover, in addition to decreasing physical activity, an increase in other sedentary behaviours, such as gaming was observed (19) .…”