Episode 54: New Year's Resolutions... Should You Actually Quit Caffeine?

It is the most common New Year's Resolution we see: "I'm quitting coffee." But before you suffer through the withdrawal headaches, you need to ask: Is caffeine actually bad for you?

In this solo Saturday episode, Mikey breaks down the latest science on the world's most popular drug. He explores why caffeine is actually a powerhouse for disease prevention (including Alzheimer's and Diabetes) but a nightmare for your sleep architecture if misused. Instead of quitting cold turkey, learn the protocols to get the benefits while protecting your rest.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• The Resolution Reality: Why 85% of us drink it, and why we shouldn't feel guilty about it (if it's the right kind).
• The "Good": How coffee consumption is linked to weight loss, cancer risk reduction, and neuroprotection.
• The "Bad": The massive impact on Deep Sleep and why you lose 45 minutes of rest without realizing it.
• The Protocols:
  • The 10-Hour Rule: When to take your last sip to save your sleep.
  • The 90-Minute Rule: A tip from Andrew Huberman and Matthew Walker on how to avoid the afternoon crash.
  • Dosing: Why 400mg is the safe ceiling.
• Athletic Performance: Why caffeine is one of the few legal performance enhancers that actually works.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Mitchell DC, Knight CA, Hockenberry J, Teplansky R, Hartman TJ. Beverage caffeine intakes in the U.S. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2014;63:136-142. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.10.042

2. Gardiner C, Weakley J, Burke LM, et al. The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2023;69:101764. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101764

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Disclaimer: Although we are healthcare providers, we are not YOUR healthcare provider. Content is for educational purposes only. Please consult your physician before making lifestyle changes.

Transcript

Speaker: 0:01

Welcome to the podcast, the professionals providing insight so that you can go fix yourself. The podcast is hosted by Mike Bruno, a chiropractor and athletic trainer in the Michael Stanton Athletic Trainer and Certified Strength conditioning specialist. Although we are healthcare providers, we are not your healthcare provider. We will discuss general health interventions in this podcast, but you should not take that as health advice that works in every situation. Before doing anything on your changes, please consult with This podcast and the views our full time jobs and represent If you're enjoying the podcast, listening platform and subscribe Link to our show can be found in platform you're listening to. This episode and future episodes solo episodes hosted by me. I'll be using this time to intervention and wellness topic insight on something in the news and review the research and These episodes are designed to you know, to help you gain some and really just gives me an bit as well. So for this episode, in the next do, I'm going to examine popular One of the most common give up caffeine. It makes sense why this is a The majority of the world Me as well. A study from twenty fourteen showed that eighty five percent of the US population consumes at least one caffeinated beverage daily. The average daily intake is five milligrams, or two point kilogram of body weight. Interestingly, caffeine intake seems to increase with age as well, with those between the ages of fifty to sixty four having the highest average intake. Just for reference, for you know mean, a standard twelve ounce hundred and twenty milligrams to milligrams of caffeine. Generally speaking, consuming of caffeine per day, so about has not been associated with considered safe for most adults. So if so, if it's generally it and should you? So let's kind of look at the of the science behind caffeine could be good or bad for you. So let's start with the Caffeine is widely, widely consumed in coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks, but not all the sources are created equal. Research suggests that caffeine, is associated with some A few of them here is weight It has been linked to improved risk of type two diabetes. Neurological protection it may as Parkinson's and even improve already have it. And then it also have is in And there's some evidence certain cancers, uh, with So why does this happen? Part of the benefit comes from the antioxidants in the coffee beans. These antioxidants counteract oxygen species, and by reduce the oxidative damage in Caffeine also has something called an anti-proliferation effect. This means it can decrease the rate at which cells multiply and increase apoptosis. Apoptosis. Programmed cell death that helps your body clear out broken or damaged cells. This mechanism is one theory on growth of liver cancer cells. More research has also been shown coffee and tea to be neuroprotective in general, kind of similar to what its effect in Parkinson's. And it's actually potentially able to prevent against diseases like Alzheimer's. Very new research, all theory Take it as you will. Now there's a huge caveat here. These health benefits are generally observed when drinking coffee or tea in a natural, low calorie state. If your car if your coffee is with cream and sugar, or if your and energy drinks, those health negative effects of of sugar and Unfortunately, recent data from twenty twenty five shows that while average caffeine intake is increasing, it's largely driven by increases in coffee, carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks, while tea consumption is actually decreasing, so we would rather see it coffee and tea in general. So about the bad. So what is the downside of Tea. The carbonated beverages. Uh, what's the downside of So first excessive intake, the greater than four hundred milligram number that I talked about earlier can lead to hypertension or high blood pressure and potential cardiovascular issues. So, you know, you worry about, uh, any type of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, things like that. Uh, the biggest issue, and probably one most people might ignore, and you kind of drink caffeine for this reason is sleep. Sleep is critical for preventing cognitive, and physical health. Chronic insufficient sleep increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and mental health disorders. So here's what the research says Caffeine has been shown to forty five minutes. It reduces sleep efficiency, your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep by about seven percent. It specifically reduces deep physical and cognitive recovery What we talked about caffeine. That's kind of where that cleanup of cells and bad cells So the biggest thing here with that you're intaking it. So the half life of caffeine in be anywhere from two to ten But it can be shorter depending they metabolize it. Research suggests that a So in this in this article that and seven milligrams should be eight hours prior to bedtime to So that same article also went pre-workout supplement, which is So I think two cups of coffee in one shot, you might need to take take that thirteen hours prior to bedtime so it doesn't disrupt your sleep. So if you have coffee and you go shouldn't be drinking any Or if you're having higher anything past nine a m. There's Black tea, because it actually has such lower caffeine levels, can actually be consumed closer to bedtime without significant sleep reduction, which could be a great alternative for people that just really struggle not to have a different taste of something else in the evening time. So one quick backtrack, um, is going to be to sports performance. So caffeine is is a highly Ergogenic just means helps with So it helps in almost all sports running and cycling to high soccer, basketball and hockey. And while it is banned at NCAA, you would need to consume You're probably taking it in trigger a positive result. For the average athlete, and for effective performance booster. So should you give up caffeine So should you give up caffeine Probably not. Instead of limiting it, try to You know, everything in So I'm going to give you five rules surrounding caffeine consumption one. Keep it natural. Stick to coffee and tea to get the sugar crash. Try to keep that stuff to, you and stuff like that. Just keep the calories low. Watch the dose. Keep your daily intake under to three cups of coffee. Pregnant women should stay under two hundred milligrams, according to World Health Organization, and then the children and adolescents should limit intake to about two point five milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Pay attention to your clock to Stop drinking. Caffeine will cut well, you middle of what that research If you if you sleep at ten p m, ninety minute rule. So this one, if you really want with your caffeine. And this is actually from a sleep scientist, Matthew Walker, and something I heard on the Huberman Lab podcast, you should actually wait to have your cup of coffee until ninety minutes after waking. How this works. That allows the adenosine. That's kind of how caffeine It helps goes on these adenosine receptors and it helps give you alertness. The adenosine kind of clears out A little bit more. So this allows the density to You know, that afternoon crash that some people get with caffeine. And. Right. Listen to your body. Everyone has a little bit of Some people can drink a cup of coffee at four o'clock in the afternoon, and it doesn't affect their sleep. If you're not sure how it wearable technology now. You can track your sleep and Pay attention to what you eat, what you drink, and see if it kind of screws up your sleep cycle. So all these smart watches, they I highly recommend doing it just of when you sleep well or when make those connections. So if your resolution was to quit caffeine, maybe just refine your relationship with it instead. You can keep the brain benefits Just lose the sleep disruption. So I hope you enjoyed this If you enjoyed this episode or podcast, please leave us a listening platform or YouTube. If you have not already, please You can find links to our subscribe to the well informed Have a great day!