# Caffeine Not Effective For The Sleep Deprived

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/sleep/caffeine-not-effective-for-the-sleep-deprived/
- Published: 2017-01-26T16:00:13+11:00
- Author: Caroline Duncan

### _If you’ve ever run on little or no sleep for nights on end and you rely on caffeine to keep you alert and going during the day, you might get to a point where you feel it isn’t helping anymore._

[⌊Couple cooking together in a modern kitchen for valentines day date night⌉⌊Couple cooking together in a modern kitchen for valentines day date night⌉ ](https://i0.wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Caffeine-Not-Effective-For-The-Sleep-Deprived.jpg?quality=89&ssl=1)

A new study from the [American Academy of Sleep Medicine](https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/aaos-chl061316.php),
supported by the US Department of Defense Military Operational Medicine Research
Program, has found that your coffee is not as beneficial as you might think for 
sleep deprivation. While might help you perk up after two late nights where you’ve
burned the midnight oil, after that you can forget about it. It turns out that long-
term, coffee really isn’t the thing that you need to stay awake and alert after 
a bad night of sleep

The study looked at forty-eight participants who had just five hours of sleep for
five consecutive nights. Some were given a 200 mg jolt of caffeine twice during 
the day, while the others received a placebo instead (lucky them). The participants
were given a battery of cognitive tests every hour they were awake, and a test of
their wakefulness was done six times a day.[](https://i0.wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/giphy-5.gif?ssl=1)

What researchers found was those who were caffeinated performed better on the first
and second days than those who received a placebo.

However by the third night the benefits of the caffeine were definitely gone, and
participants were performing at the same level regardless of whether they had been
given the caffeine or not.

The lead author of the study, Tracy Jill Doty, PhD said:  “We were particularly 
surprised that the performance advantage conferred by two daily 200 mg doses of 
caffeine was lost after three nights of sleep restriction.

> _“These results are important, because caffeine is a stimulant widely used to 
> counteract performance decline following periods of restricted sleep. _
> _The data from this study suggests that the same effective daily dose of caffeine
> is not sufficient to prevent performance decline over multiple days of restricted
> sleep.”_

[[

Of course there are a few issues with this study. For one the sample size was relatively
small, so there’s no way to tell what data might be gleaned from a larger group 
of people undergoing the same experiment. Along with that researchers only tested
the same amount of caffeine every day, so we don’t know if having _more_ caffeine
on the third day might have kept the caffeine group more alert than the placebo 
group.

Those things aside, this research shows more than ever how important sleep is and
that, for now anyway, there really is no alternative for getting at least a solid
few hours of sleep every night. Adults should aim for about 8 hours for maximum 
health and wellbeing, but parents will likely find themselves operating on much 
less. We suggest that you do better than 5 hours, in any case!

[[

> And, even though coffee might not perk you up as much after the third day, according
> to science, we’ll probably keep on drinking it!

![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b860f553e8ded813ef1efe9dc0c295aaafb562c488421df4566fb8f71d3e1347?
s=300&d=mm&r=pg)

 Caroline Duncan

 Caroline Duncan is a freelance journalist and photographer with almost 20 years'
media experience in radio, magazines and online. She is also a mother of three daughters,
and when she's not writing or taking pictures, she's extremely busy operating a 
taxi service running them around to various activities. She can't sew and hates 
housework.

 [See Full Bio](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/carolinedun/) [  ](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/carolinedun/)