Coffee in the morning may help you get through the day, but is it making your brain too active at night, even while you’re asleep? According to a recent study, caffeine has effects beyond your energy levels. Additionally, it may alter how your brain works when you sleep, particularly if you’re in your 20s.
According to a news release, Canadian researchers discovered that caffeine use before bed may keep the brain more active throughout the night.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications Biology, investigated how caffeine alters the brain’s activity while it is at rest using electroencephalography (EEG) and artificial intelligence.
“We used advanced statistical analysis and artificial intelligence to identify subtle changes in neuronal activity,” stated lead author Philipp Thölke, a research trainee at the University of Montreal.
“The results showed that caffeine increased the complexity of brain signals, reflecting more dynamic and less predictable neuronal activity, especially during the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) phase of sleep that’s crucial for memory consolidation and cognitive recovery,” he stated in a news release.
Researchers found that caffeine increased the complexity of brain signals. It also boosted something known as “criticality.”
“Criticality describes a state of the brain that is balanced between order and chaos,” stated study co-author Karim Jerbi, a University of Montreal psychology professor and director of its Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Lab.
“In this state, the brain functions optimally,” he stated in a news release. “It can process information efficiently, adapt quickly, learn and make decisions with agility.”
But during sleep, that same alert state isn’t exactly ideal.
“Caffeine stimulates the brain and pushes it into a state of criticality, where it is more awake, alert and reactive,” study co-leader Julie Carrier, director of the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network, explained in a news release. “While this is useful during the day for concentration, this state could interfere with rest at night: the brain would neither relax nor recover properly.”
Researchers watched 40 healthy people sleep in order to investigate these impacts. On separate evenings, three hours before bed, and again an hour before bed, the participants received either caffeine pills or a placebo.
The researchers discovered that coffee decreased slower brain waves like theta and alpha, which are linked to deep and restorative sleep, and raised beta brain waves, which are often linked to mental engagement and awake.
“These changes suggest that even during sleep, the brain remains in a more activated, less restorative state under the influence of caffeine,” Jerbi stated.
“This change in the brain’s rhythmic activity may help explain why caffeine affects the efficiency with which the brain recovers during the night, with potential consequences for memory processing,” he attached.
Compared to middle-aged people between the ages of 41 and 58, the effects of caffeine were most pronounced among those aged 20 to 27.
This discrepancy could result from modifications to the brain’s adenosine receptors. You feel drowsy because of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that accumulates during the day.
Adenosine receptors are blocked by caffeine to keep you awake, but the stimulant has a greater effect on younger folks since they have more of them.
“Adenosine receptors naturally decrease with age, reducing caffeine’s ability to block them and improve brain complexity, which may partly explain the reduced effect of caffeine observed in middle-aged participants,” Carrier stated.
Researchers stated that further research is necessary to comprehend caffeine’s long-term impacts on brain health and to inform tailored recommendations for various age groups because of its widespread usage, particularly as a daily remedy for weariness.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
