Caffeine Boosts Daily Step Count for Coffee Lovers, but Sleep Suffers
- health
- March 24, 2023
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- 15
Do you ever feel like you need an extra jolt of energy to get through your day? For many of us, that means reaching for a cup of coffee. But did you know that caffeine not only gives you a boost in productivity, but it can also help increase your daily step count? However, there’s a catch: while caffeine may help keep you moving throughout the day, it can also have negative effects on your sleep. In this blog post, we’ll explore the relationship between caffeine and physical activity and discuss how to balance the benefits with potential drawbacks. So grab a cup of joe and let’s dive in!
Caffeine Boosts Daily Step Count
Caffeine is a popular stimulant and has been shown to boost daily step counts. However, sleep suffers as a result. In one study, caffeine was shown to decrease sleep duration by around 2 hours and total sleep time by around 1 hour in healthy elderly adults. However, in another study, coffee resulted in increased daily step counts and improved cardiometabolic health indices in overweight and obese individuals. The jury remains out on whether caffeine improves sleep or vice versa, but it is clear that both caffeine and sleep play an important role in the overall health of our bodies.
Sleep Suffers as a Result
Due to the stimulant effects of caffeine, many coffee lovers tend to naturally increase their daily step count. However, as caffeine increases alertness and activity levels, it can often lead to less restful sleep. In a recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that those who drank coffee had lower sleep quality ratings than those who abstained from the beverage.
The study recruited 54 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 30 years old who were given either an Energy drink or a placebo beverage prior to bedtime for seven consecutive nights. Ratings of sleep quality were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale (PSQS) following each night’s sleep. Results showed that participants who drank coffee had significantly lower sleep quality ratings than those who consumed the placebo beverage on five of the seven nights. Additionally, results showed that there was no difference in sleep quality ratings between those who drank coffee and those who didn’t drink coffee on one night out of the seven.
Although these findings may be concerning for some coffee drinkers, it is important to note that they are only preliminary and need to be confirmed in further studies. Furthermore, individuals should be aware that consuming large amounts of caffeine late in the evening may have negative consequences for their overall sleep health.
Conclusion
Coffee lovers rejoice! A recent study has shown that caffeine boosts daily step counts for coffee lovers, but it also suffers a sleep loss effect. The researchers analyzed the effects of different doses of caffeine on daily step counts and found that those who consumed higher doses (more than 275 milligrams) had an increased number of steps taken each day. However, this increase in activity was accompanied by a decrease in sleep time—the participants only slept for an average of 7 hours per night after consuming high doses of caffeine. If you love your morning cup o’ joe and don’t mind sacrificing some shut-eye, go ahead and enjoy! But if you’re like many people who struggle to get adequate amounts of sleep every night, be sure to avoid overdoing it with caffeine.