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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Oct 11;16(20):3442.
doi: 10.3390/nu16203442.

Caffeine Intake Alters Recovery Sleep after Sleep Deprivation

Benoit Pauchon  1   2 , Vincent Beauchamps  3   4 , Danielle Gomez-Mérino  3   4 , Mégane Erblang  5 , Catherine Drogou  3   4 , Pascal Van Beers  3   4 , Mathias Guillard  3   4 , Michaël Quiquempoix  3   4 , Damien Léger  4   6 , Mounir Chennaoui  3   4 , Fabien Sauvet  1   3   4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Caffeine Intake Alters Recovery Sleep after Sleep Deprivation

Benoit Pauchon et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Caffeine is a well-known psychostimulant reputed to alleviate the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation. Nevertheless, caffeine can alter sleep duration and quality, particularly during recovery sleep. We evaluated the effects of acute caffeine intake on the duration and quality of recovery sleep following total sleep deprivation (TSD), taking into account daily caffeine consumption.

Methods: Forty-one participants performed a double-blind, crossover TSD protocol (38 h of continuous wakefulness) with acute caffeine or placebo. Caffeine (2.5 mg/kg) or placebo was administered twice during continuous wakefulness (last treatment 6.5 h before bedtime for the recovery night). Polysomnographic measurements were recorded using a connected headband.

Results: TSD was associated with a rebound in total sleep time (TST) on the recovery night (+110.2 ± 23.2 min, p < 0.001). Caffeine intake decreased this recovery TST (-30.2 ± 8.2 min p = 0.02) and the N3 sleep stage duration (-35.6 ± 23.2 min, p < 0.01). Caffeine intake altered recovery sleep continuity (increased number of long awakenings), stability (higher stage transition frequency), and organization (less time spent in complete sleep cycle) and decreased the delta power spectral density during NREM sleep. On the recovery night, habitual daily caffeine consumption was negatively correlated with TST in caffeine and placebo conditions and positively correlated with wake after sleep onset (WASO) duration and with the frequency of long (>2 min) awakenings in the caffeine condition only.

Conclusions: Acute caffeine intake during TSD affects nighttime recovery sleep, with an interaction with daily consumption. These results may influence advice on caffeine intake for night-shift workers. (NCT03859882).

Keywords: EEG; caffeine intake; sleep continuity; sleep density; sleep deprivation; sleep organization; sleep stability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study design.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in sleep parameters in caffeine (CAF) and placebo (PBO) conditions. * Indicates a difference between the night of sleep recovery following total sleep deprivation and the baseline night before total sleep deprivation; # indicates a difference between caffeine (CAF) and placebo (PBO) conditions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in sleep microstructure parameters: stability, continuity, and density. * Indicates a difference between the night of sleep recovery following total sleep deprivation and the baseline night before total sleep deprivation; # indicates a difference between caffeine (CAF) and placebo (PBO) conditions (p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlations (with confidence intervals) between habitual caffeine consumption and sleep parameters. (a) Total sleep time, (b) N3 sleep stage, (c) REM sleep, and (d) wake after sleep onset (WASO) in the four conditions. CAF is caffeine, and PBO is placebo.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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