Teenage Brain Development May Be Delayed by Caffeine
- 11 years ago
There’s new evidence that teenagers who overdo their caffeine consumption could be delaying their brain development.
There’s new evidence that teenagers who overdo their caffeine consumption could be delaying their brain development.
Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day, or its equivalent in sodas, energy drinks, and teas, can compromise a teen’s ability to get the amount of solid sleep they need.
It’s believed that brain networks are optimized and brains made more powerful during the state of deep sleep.
Failure to experience it can inhibit the formation of connections at the time when the human brain is doing its fastest maturing – during puberty.
Scientists tested out their theory on 30-day old rats.
Sure enough, the caffeinated rats didn’t sleep well and had poor neural connection development.
What the scientists weren’t expecting was the effect it had on the rats’ behavior.
While rats at that age are typically curious, the caffeinated ones became introverted.
Also of concern is that puberty is when mental illnesses begin to appear.
The scientists say they have more research to do to explore both the specific and long-term effects of caffeine consumption in people.
At this point, they’re unsure if teenage human brains are impacted in the same way as those of pubescent rats.
There’s new evidence that teenagers who overdo their caffeine consumption could be delaying their brain development.
Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day, or its equivalent in sodas, energy drinks, and teas, can compromise a teen’s ability to get the amount of solid sleep they need.
It’s believed that brain networks are optimized and brains made more powerful during the state of deep sleep.
Failure to experience it can inhibit the formation of connections at the time when the human brain is doing its fastest maturing – during puberty.
Scientists tested out their theory on 30-day old rats.
Sure enough, the caffeinated rats didn’t sleep well and had poor neural connection development.
What the scientists weren’t expecting was the effect it had on the rats’ behavior.
While rats at that age are typically curious, the caffeinated ones became introverted.
Also of concern is that puberty is when mental illnesses begin to appear.
The scientists say they have more research to do to explore both the specific and long-term effects of caffeine consumption in people.
At this point, they’re unsure if teenage human brains are impacted in the same way as those of pubescent rats.