As graduate students in a rigorous one-year post-baccalaureate pre-medical and pre-dental program, we’re in a constant state of fatigue and psychological stress. The night before a huge exam, I often struggle with whether or not to brew a cup of joe to stay awake and grind it out, or succumb to restful slumber for a couple hours before returning to the books. One article describes how combining sleep and caffeine in an unusual order can reduce sleepiness in drivers for an hour, a technique that could easily be employed by students in need.
Often times, sleep-deprived drivers will pull over at the nearest rest stop for a cup of coffee or to take a quick nap before getting back on the road. Studies have shown that drinking caffeine works slightly more effectively for reducing fatigue than taking a 15-30 minute nap. This is because caffeine is from the xanthine chemical group that is structurally similar to adenosine, the chemical that accumulates in our brains when we are awake and alert. Adenosine typically binds adenosine receptors, eliciting an inhibitory response in our basal forebrain, which slows down cellular activity through a second messenger system. Caffeine blocks these receptors and stimulates nerve cells to release epinephrine, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow to muscles, stimulating glucose release from the liver, and increasing levels of dopamine.
However, the effects of caffeine aren’t typically observed until 20 minutes after ingestion. By this time the xanthine molecules have been broken down in the stomach and absorbed by the small intestine into the blood stream, where they travel to the brain in order to produce their pleasing psychological effects. In order to feel fully refreshed and focused, researchers have suggested drinking 200 mg of caffeine immediately proceeded by a 15-minute nap. Typically sleep experts advise against consuming stimulants and caffeine before rest because it’s been shown to disrupt sleep. But since the “power nap” doesn’t involve long-term REM slumber, the combination of caffeine and restful relaxation have been shown to improve wakefulness in drivers prior to a two hour continuous monotonous afternoon drive. I don’t know about anyone else, but an extra two hours of continuous monotonous studying, in an alert state, may make all the difference in that final exam grade.
References:
Suppression of sleepiness in drivers: combination of caffeine with a short nap.
Reyner LA, Horne JA. Psychophysiology. 1997 Nov;34(6):721-5.Really? The Claim: For a More Restful Nap, Avoid Caffeine
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/really-the-claim-for-a-more-restful-nap-avoid-caffeine/?ref=scienceCaffeine Chemistry
What Is Caffeine and How Does It Work?
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., About.com Guide http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/caffeine.htm
I not only use coffee as a morning wake-up before I head off to class, but also as a late-night study aid. According to a recent study, daily coffee may be a good idea. Although the study I reviewed used an animal model, it was shown that groups given coffee or caffeine showed better long-term memory than the control group, as well as increased object discrimination, reinforcing the positive effects of coffee on short-term and long-term memories. Coffee is also a known antioxidant, which can help protect against oxidative stress from the generation of free radicals. This has been suggested to also help in the long-term protection against progressive functional deterioration of brain cells and tissues, as the brain is particularly vulnerable to ROS actions, as it consumes approximately 20% of the body's total oxygen.
ReplyDeleteSo, if drinking coffee can potentially increase my short-term memory, and help with my cramming immediately before an exam, but also help my long-term memory and keeping that information available for my cumulative finals, I will be sure to keep my coffee pot programmed to continue brewing every morning.
"Chronic coffee and caffeine ingestion effects on the cognitive function and antioxidant system of rat brains." Abreu, Renate Viana. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior 99 (2011) 659-664.
With finals approaching quickly this post was very interesting to me. Sleep deprivation tends to appear around this time of the year for many students. So I was curious as to what are the overall effects of sleep deprivation on a student?
ReplyDeleteA study by Drumer and Dinges (2005) looked at the neurocognitive consequences of sleep deprivation and found that sleep deprivation negatively impacts "mood, cognitive performance, and motor function due to an increasing sleep propensity and destabilization of the wake state." These negative impacts, especially on cognitive performance, are not something that any student would want impacting their grade. But the reality of student life is that during crunch time sleep becomes less of a priority, when it should be a major priority to ensure a quality performance.
Jeffrey S. Durmer and David F. Dinges. (2005). Neurocognitive Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. Seminars in Neurology, 25 (1): 117-129.
Coffee drinking has both pros and cons. According to the website everydayhealth.com, “ the average 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 85 to 100 milligrams of caffeine, and within about 15 to 30 minutes of drinking a caffeinated cup of coffee, your central nervous system becomes stimulated and will stay stimulated for up to six hours” (1). This shows that yes, coffee drinking can help one stay up when you have certain task to perform such as blog writing, but it last for six hours, so it is some potent stuff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, “drinking coffee may decrease risk of heart disease and protect from Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease” (1).
Coffee drinking also has some very serious cons especially if you consume too much. The moderate amount of coffee is considered to be three cups, but it varies among individuals. Moderate coffee drinking can make your heart rate go up, increase your need to urinate, and cause restlessness (1). Although coffee helps you stay up, how effective is that time you are staying up and studying if you are urinating constantly and worried by your heart beating too fast?
In women, coffee drinking can cause breast tenderness (1). This tenderness can be so severe that it interrupts your sleeping and you have to quit drinking coffee for weeks before the tenderness goes away. I also came upon a study that showed drinking three cups of coffee could also decrease breast size (2).
Knowing this information, one may want to just quit coffee drinking all together, but that is also a bad idea. You could experience headaches, irritability, and problems staying focused (1). The best thing to do is to decrease your intake slowly and try drinking other things that have caffeine in it such as tea.
References:
1.http://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/does-caffeine-help-you-live-longer.aspx
2.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3242252/Drinking-too-much-coffee-could-shrink-womens-breasts.html
I had actually attempted to follow the process of caffeine intake prior to a 15-minute nap, but unfortunately failed in doing so. I consumed approximately 100 mg of caffeine prior to a planned 15 minute nap in the middle of the night. A short nap actually resulted in a 90 minute nap. Granted that my brain, in the middle of the night, had already entered the REM sleep cycle, it was nearly impossible to awake from such a “nap”. I wasn’t however totally disappointed in a longer nap, due to enhanced benefits of a longer nap. According to a research, naps longer than 20 minutes help boost memory and enhance creativity (The Secret). Napping for 30 to 60 minutes is beneficial for decision-making skills. And, in my case, napping of 60 to 90 minutes involves making new connection in the brain and boosts problem solving skills. At the end, I may have actually benefited from a longer nap, but probably not nearly as much as I would have from a nice 8 hours long rest.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
The Secret (and Surprising) Power of Naps. (2011). WebMD Health and Balance. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/the-secret-and-surprising-power-of-naps