Study in mice shows how chronic caffeine consumption alters sleep pattern and blood flow (Helps expand blood flow during sleep)

Medical Xpress / University of California, Los Angeles / PNAS Nexus ^ | Sept. 25, 2023 | Kimiya Aframian et al

[ConservativeMind]

A study finds that chronic caffeine consumption has surprising effects on sleep patterns and brain blood flow in mice, increasing brain blood flow during sleep.

The study was conducted using a minimally invasive microchip and video recording system.

The study found that mice consistently have a "siesta" during the latter part of their awake phase. Daily caffeine abolished this siesta and consolidated wakefulness during the awake phase It also shifted the onset of sleep (particularly REM sleep) by up to 2 hours relative to the light dark cycle. Interestingly, the mice that consumed caffeine when awake slept more solidly, and their overall amount of non-REM and REM sleep was not changed because they "slept in" later.

The researchers found that brain blood flow was generally correlated with activity, causing it to be higher during the awake state and lower during sleep. The exception to this pattern was periods of REM sleep, during which there were large increases in brain blood flow in the absence of any movement. Chronic caffeine consumption had remarkable effects on brain blood flow during both the wake and sleep states, causing a reduction in brain blood flow during the awake phase, and a significant increase in brain blood flow during the sleep phase.

REM sleep is associated with a dramatic increase in brain blood flow that is augmented by caffeine. Brain blood flow during non-REM sleep was also increased during caffeine administration. The authors say these effects raise the possibility that caffeine's neuroprotective effects, particularly against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, could be linked to its enhanced blood flow during sleep, aiding in the clearance of metabolic waste.

[ConservativeMind]

Caffeine helps our bodies to expand blood flow during REM and non-REM sleep, possibly causing the reduced neurodegenerative disease risk seen in other studies by washing away metabolic debris.

[ConservativeMind]

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[Nervous Tick]

>> The authors say these effects raise the possibility that caffeine’s neuroprotective effects, particularly against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, could be linked to its enhanced blood flow during sleep, aiding in the clearance of metabolic waste.

Sobottomline, drinkingabunchacoffee allday isagoodthing, right? :-)

[dinodino]

I’d say so...enjoying a coffee before bed.

[irishjuggler]

I find that coffee is a great cure for a headache... but is caffeine-withdrawal the cause of the headache in the first place? Perhaps it doesn’t matter... if I’m saving my brain from Parkinson’s.

[Pez149]

I’ll tell you what, the next time I run into a mouse I’ll be glad to let it know...

[alexander_busek]

The study found that mice consistently have a "siesta" during the latter part of their awake phase.

That's ray-cist!

Regards,

[Nachoman]

Good God! You could be arrested for having that picture in your possession!

[1_Rain_Drop]

"nterestingly, the mice that consumed caffeine when awake... "

Where is the study when mice consumed caffeine while asleep.

[maddog55]

A bizzare study with no data associated with what the chronic caffeine use is especially in the mice with electronic chips attached to their heads.

[Red Badger]

Coffee GOOD!..............This Week..................

[ConservativeMind]

The study gives the varying amounts of caffeine used.

Here is the table:

https://academic.oup.com/view-large/419181921

[ConservativeMind]

A bit more insight from the study:

For the first 7 days, animals received regular drinking water. Caffeine (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) was then administered in the drinking water at concentrations of 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 mg/ml, each dose for 7 days (the equivalent of ∼5–20 cups of coffee/day in humans when accounting for differences in liver size and metabolism (44)). After caffeine administration, the animals were switched back to regular water, and an additional 7 days (washout period) were recorded. In separate experiments (n = 4), mice received only a single dose of caffeine (0.6 mg/ml) for 7 days followed by washout for 7 days. To verify that water intake remained the same, water bottles were weighed throughout the experiment. We found no differences in average water intake over the entire experiment (Avg 24–33 ml/week; P = 0.59, Mann Whitney U test).”

[maddog55]

Thanks for the info!!