Take caffeine a few hours before sleeping activates the brain, making your sleep less restful and not consolidating memories. And for young people the effects are worse.
There are those who cannot say that they have really woke up without having drank a coffee, and those who can even have it in the evening without having difficulty falling asleep. But what sleep are the effects of caffeine on a dormant brain? According to a study published on Communications Biologythe caffeine would affect the night ability of the brain to “clean up”making it more responsive and increasing neural activity: The consequences for us are a less refreshing sleep and the failure to consolidate memories during the non -Rem phase.
Reactive brain. To reach their conclusions, the authors recorded the night brain activity of 40 healthy adults with an encephalogram, comparing it in two different nights – one in which they had consumed caffeine three hours and one hour before sleeping, the other in which they had taken on a placebo. “The results show that caffeine increases the complexity of brain signals, reflecting a more dynamic and less predictable neuronal activity especially during the non -Rem sleep phase, which is fundamental for the consolidation of memory and cognitive recovery”, explains Philipp Thölke, coordinator of the research.
The electrical activity of the brain was also altered: caffeine would have the power to mitigate the slower waves, generally associated with a deep and restaurateur sleep, and stimulate beta waves, more common during waking and mental commitment. The stimulus given by caffeine therefore makes the brain more awake and reactive – An ideal situation for the concentration necessary during the day, but not recommended during the night, when it is necessary to rest.
Young people, eye to coca cola and coffee! The young people would be more affected by the effects of caffeine between 20 and 27 years of age who, compared to the participants of the 41-58 band, were more “awake”, especially during the Rem phase, that during which we dream. The reason would probably be due to a greater presence of receptors for adenosine, a molecule that accumulates during the day causing a feeling of tiredness. With age, these receptors naturally decrease, reducing the ability of caffeine to block them. The authors underline the importance of conducting further studies to better understand the impact of these neural changes on cognitive health and daily activities, thus being able to offer personalized advice on caffeine consumption.
