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- Sleep-deprived, caffeine can only do so much for you
- Researchers investigated the sleep-deprived brain
- Participants were given either caffeine capsules or placebos in order to study the reaction of the brain
After a night of poor or no sleep, you may think that some good, strong coffee will get you through the day, but research claims you shouldn't count on that caffeine to sustain your performance.
A study carried out by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) investigated how caffeine assisted the brain’s functionality when impacted by sleep deprivation.
Researchers found that caffeine could only do so much for the sleep-deprived brain.
The study was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.
An abstract published on the American Psychological Association website notes that while sleep deprivation affects a wide variety of cognitive functions and processes, one prominent occurrence is that sleep deprivation “impairs vigilant attention, causing impairment in cognitive tasks that require attention”.
Researchers then conducted their study around simple tasks of “visual vigilant attention and on placekeeping”. (Placekeeping involves accurately maintaining one's place in a task sequence.)
High Caffeine Content
The 275 study participants were randomly assigned to stay awake or sleep, and were then given a 200mg caffeine capsule or a placebo.
Beverages on the market boasting a high caffeine content contain levels of caffeine ranging from 80mg per 250ml serving to more than 185mg per 750ml serving.
After swallowing either the caffeine capsule or the placebo, both groups were given the same tasks to assess their performance.
Flawed performance
Researchers found that the participants' performance was flawed because of sleep deprivation.
In a media statement issued by the institution, associate professor in psychology, Kimberly Fenn, said, “We found that sleep deprivation impaired performance on both types of tasks, and that having caffeine helped people successfully achieve the easier task.
“However, it had little effect on performance on the placekeeping task for most participants.”
Long hours, little sleep
A sleepless night here and there may not be harmful, but many people experience sleep deprivation on a regular basis, particularly those working in certain industries.
Sleep deprivation is considered common in the healthcare industry, particularly in the case of frontline workers and first responders. This doesn't only affect the healthcare professionals, but their patients as well.
Lack of sleep can cause a host of issues, including, but not limited to irritability, impaired attention span, heightened stress levels, anxiety, impaired decision-making, slow reaction time, impaired immune functionality, and even hallucinations, depending on how far you’re pushed.
Fenn said, “Caffeine may improve the ability to stay awake and attend to a task, but it doesn’t do much to prevent the sort of procedural errors that can cause things like medical mistakes and car accidents.
“Caffeine increases energy, reduces sleepiness and can even improve mood, but it absolutely does not replace a full night of sleep.”
Repair and reset
When it comes to sleep, the human body goes through a host of processes to repair and reset.
Psychology Today speaks of how active the brain is while we are asleep and how it undergoes a crucial deep cleaning, particularly of molecules, which may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Medical News Today says that the lack of sleep could also increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, colorectal cancer, weight gain, and sexual health issues.
Fenn added, “Although people may feel as if they can combat sleep deprivation with caffeine, their performance on higher-level tasks will likely still be impaired. This is one of the reasons why sleep deprivation can be so dangerous.”
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