The Study
Caffeine Consuming Children and Adolescents Show Altered Sleep Behavior and Deep Sleep
This study noticed that teens who drink caffeine often go to bed later and have less deep sleep than teens who don’t. But it didn’t make one group drink caffeine and the other not—it just watched what was already happening. So we can’t say caffeine is the reason for the sleep changes—maybe kids who stay up late just like caffeine more.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Teens who drink a lot of caffeine (like soda or energy drinks) every day tend to go to bed later and get less deep sleep at night, even though they don’t feel more tired in the morning.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 534 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though their deep sleep was weaker, teens didn’t feel more tired or perform worse on attention tests — so their brains might be adapting, but it’s unclear if this affects long-term brain development.
- 2Caffeine drinkers went to bed 57 minutes later and slept 53 minutes less.
- 3Their deep sleep brain waves (SWA) were 20% weaker at the start of the night.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Brain Sciences
Year
2015
Authors
Andrina Aepli, S. Kurth, N. Tesler, O. Jenni, R. Huber
Related Content
Claims (6)
Consuming caffeine in the afternoon or evening reduces sleep quality.
Teenagers aged 10 to 16 who drink at least two caffeinated beverages daily for three or more years go to bed about 57 minutes later and spend 53 minutes less time in bed than teens who do not consume caffeine regularly.
In adolescents, consuming caffeine is linked to lower levels of alpha brain waves (8.25–9.75 Hz) in the early stages of sleep, and this reduction occurs in the same brain regions where slow-wave activity is also reduced, suggesting a change in how the cortex synchronizes activity during sleep.
In adolescents, caffeine reduces deep sleep brain activity, but this effect ends by morning and does not cause increased tiredness or worse attention the next day.
In adolescents, consuming caffeine is linked to lower levels of slow-wave activity during deep sleep, even when differences in when they go to bed or how long they sleep are taken into account.
Adolescents aged 10–16 who regularly consume caffeine have a 20% lower level of slow-wave brain activity during the first two hours of sleep compared to those who do not consume caffeine, with the greatest reduction observed in the prefrontal, central, and occipital brain regions.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.