Sleep deprived? That extra cup of coffee will only get you so far, study says
Yes, caffeine can give you that jolt of energy you need to put your shoes on the correct feet and stay awake for Zoom meetings, but one study found that your extra cup of coffee may not get you too far — or help you accomplish more important tasks throughout your day.
Michigan State University researchers recruited healthy undergraduate students to test how effective caffeine is in thwarting negative effects from sleep deprivation on the ability to think and act clearly.
The group of 276 students recorded their sleeping habits for five nights leading up to the study. They each completed two tests: one 10-minute “easy” attention task that involved clicking on a red circle as soon as it appeared on a computer screen and another more complex 35-minute one that required participants to complete tasks in a specific order without skipping or repeating steps.
Turns out being sleep deprived made a dent on the students’ performance during both tasks. And while a pump of caffeine helped them successfully complete the easy computer task, it had little effect on the more difficult one, suggesting what we all really need is not an energy drink, but a good night’s rest.
The study was published May 20 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition.
“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,” Kimberly Fenn, study lead author and psychology associate professor at Michigan State University, said in a statement. “Caffeine increases energy, reduces sleepiness and can even improve mood, but it absolutely does not replace a full night of sleep.”
“Although people may feel as if they can combat sleep deprivation with caffeine, their performance on higher-level tasks will likely still be impaired,” she added. “This is one of the reasons why sleep deprivation can be so dangerous.”
A third of American adults say they usually sleep less than the recommended amount a night, which ranges between seven and nine hours, according to the Sleep Foundation. But proper rest is more complicated than the number of hours slept because some people may experience several “awakenings” a night that affect their quality of sleep.
Scientific evidence shows a lack of sleep can lead to chronic diseases and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and depression, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It can also lead to car accidents and mistakes while working.
Some ways to avoid sleep deprivation include having a consistent sleep schedule, setting boundaries in your work and social life, and avoiding alcohol, caffeine, electronic devices and naps in the evening.
This story was originally published May 28, 2021 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Sleep deprived? That extra cup of coffee will only get you so far, study says."
