Humans and other mammals show particularly intensive sleeping
patterns during puberty. The brain also matures fastest in this period. But
when pubescent rats are administered caffeine, the maturing processes in their
brains are delayed
This is the result of a
study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Children's and young
adults' average caffeine consumption has increased by more than 70 per cent
over the past 30 years, and an end to this rise is not in sight: the drinks
industry is posting its fastest-growing sales in the segment of caffeine-laden
energy drinks. Not everybody is pleased about this development. Some people are
worried about possible health risks caused in young consumers by the
pick-me-up.
Researchers led by Reto
Huber of the University Children's Hospital Zurich are now adding new arguments
to the debate. In their recently published study conducted on rats, the
conclusions call for caution: in pubescent rodents, caffeine intake equating to
three to four cups of coffee per day in humans results in reduced deep sleep
and a delayed brain development.
Peak level during puberty
Both in humans and in
rats, the duration and intensity of deep sleep as well as the number of
synapses or connections in the brain increase during childhood, reaching their
highest level during puberty and dropping again in adult age. "The brain
of children is extremely plastic due to the many connections," says Huber.
When the brain then begins to mature during puberty, a large number of these
connections are lost. "This optimisation presumably occurs during deep
sleep. Key synapses extend, others are reduced; this makes the network more
efficient and the brain more powerful," says Huber.
Timid instead of curious
Huber's group of
researchers administered moderate quantities of caffeine to 30-day-old rats
over five days and measured the electrical current generated by their brains.
The deep sleep periods, which are characterised by slow waves, were reduced
from day 31 until day 42, i.e. well beyond the end of administering caffeine.
Compared to the rats being given pure drinking water, the researchers found far
more neural connections in the brains of the caffeine-drinking animals at the
end of the study. The slower maturing process in the brain also had an impact
on behaviour: rats normally become more curious with age, but the rats
consuming caffeine remained timid and cautious.
The
brain goes through a delicate maturing phase in puberty, during which many
mental diseases can break out. And even if the rat brain differs clearly from
that of humans, the many parallels in how the brains develop raise the question
as to whether children's and young adults' caffeine intake really is harmless
or whether it might be wiser to abstain from consuming the pick-me-up.
"There is still need for research in this area," says Huber
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