Caffeine vs. Sleep

For most of us, if we are a little tired in the morning...the first thing we grab is more coffee. It usually gives us a little added energy to help us get our day started. Now there is new research that shows the caffeine in coffee may not be as helpful as we thought.

After years of getting up at 3 am to do morning radio, I realized how important sleep really was!

In a new study, that was conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, it was found that after three nights in a row of bad, or not enough sleep — caffeine no longer helps to boost alertness or performance.

In the study, 48 people were only allowed to get just 5 hours of sleep per night. Each
Day they were then given 200 milligrams of caffeine twice a day. That amount of caffeine is equivalent to about two cups of coffee.

The caffeine works for the first couple of days, by the third day it has no effect at all.

So, who’s ready for a nap?