Addicted To Caffeine? Get Ready To Doze Off

Kids

oi-Staff

By Staff

Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 14:04

A corroboration to what many already believe in. Caffeine, according to a new study, is hampering children's daily schedule. It believed that caffeine-drinking teens are likely to stay up late at night and doze off during the day.

The other noticeable things that the researchers pointed out were web surfing, text messaging and gaming. Researchers believe that these things are simply making kids stay awake till late hours in the night.

To reach the consensus, the researchers - Dr. Christina Calamaro, Mason B. Thornton and Sarah Ratcliffe - distributed a set of questionnaires among 100 middle and high school students aged 12 to 18, asking them in pursuit to measure night time intake of caffeinated drinks, use of media-related technology and sleep patterns.

The majority of the sample used some form of technology, with 66 percent having a television in their bedroom, 30 percent a computer, 90 percent a cell phone and 79 percent an MP3 digital audio player. During the study, at least 30 percent of teenagers reported falling asleep during school.

Caffeine consumption tended to be 76 percent higher among those who fell asleep and most teenagers used multiple electronic media late into the night and consumed a variety of caffeinated beverages, including many popular energy drinks marketed to their age group. "Many adolescents used multiple forms of technology late into the night and concurrently consumed caffeinated beverages," said Calamaro. He added: "Their ability to stay alert and fully functional throughout the day was impaired by excessive daytime sleepiness."

At least 85 percent of those studied reported drinking caffeine. For those, the average caffeine intake was 144 mg with a range from 23 to1458 mg.

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