Coffee has long been a popular beverage around the world, with many people relying on it to get through their day. But what effect does coffee have on our daily activity and sleep patterns? A new study sheds some light on this question.
According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, regular coffee drinkers move more and sleep less than those who don’t drink coffee. The study was conducted on 100 healthy men and women in the San Francisco area, who were asked to wear heart monitors and blood glucose tracking devices called “Fitbits” for two days while drinking as much coffee as they wanted.
The results showed that on days when participants drank coffee, they took an average of 1,058 more steps than on days when they didn’t. However, they also slept about 36 minutes less on those days. The more coffee they consumed, the less they slept.
Lead author of the study, Professor Gregory Marcus of the University of California, San Francisco, cautioned that these findings are averages and individual effects may vary. “People should adjust their coffee consumption to match their own personality and health goals,” he advised.
While coffee consumption has been linked to immediate health benefits, the study also found that it can have an impact on the heart. On days when participants drank at least one cup of coffee, the incidence of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), extra heartbeats that start in one of the lower pumping chambers of the heart called ventricles, was 50% higher.
Experts have warned that excessive caffeine intake can be harmful to people with existing heart problems, as it can increase heart rate and blood pressure. However, for healthy individuals, moderate coffee consumption may offer some benefits. It appears that coffee lovers not only move more, but they also sleep less.
