Goal:

To examine the effects of caffeinated coffee on cardiac ectopy and arrhythmias, daily step counts, sleep minutes, and serum glucose levels.

Participation Pool:

100 healthy adults aged 39±13 years; 51% were women, and 51% were non-Hispanic White

Timeline:

14 days

Method:

All participants wore an electrocardiogram device, a wrist-worn accelerometer, and a glucose monitor. They were instructed via text over the time period if and when to consume their cup of coffee or if they needed to avoid drinking a cup coffee for that day.

Results:

Regarding ectopy and arrhythmias, "the consumption of caffeinated coffee did not result in significantly more daily premature atrial contractions than the avoidance of caffeine."(1) Please note this is in reference to a singular cup of coffee being consumed. Overall, those who consumed caffeinated coffee averaged 1000 more steps a day than those who didn't. This should be highlighted because they referenced three other studies that had shown how 1000 extra steps a day could be associated with a 6-15% reduction in mortality. There were minor effects shown in sleep patterns, but enough to suggest that caffeine consumption could affect your quality of sleep. Again, I want to reference that this was just one singular cup of coffee a day. The results would suggest that multiple cups could have a greater effect on sleep disruption. In the end, the researchers suggest an individualized approach to coffee consumption due to some individuals metabolizing caffeine faster than others. Lastly, none of the evidence collected from the study showed an association with caffeine intake and glucose levels. This may have been due to a limitation of the study - people eating carbohydrates alongside their coffee.

Personal Note:

Caffeine seems to be a very hot topic, but one we still need to learn a lot about. With "pre-workout" caffeine supplements being such a normally consumed product by a large percentage of the population, it makes me wonder how they would perform in a study like this one. Such a large amount of caffeine consumed instantly. Overtime, one scoop becomes two, two becomes three... what then happens to your heart function and sleep patterns? In the end, I enjoy my cup (maybe two) of coffee a day and will keep myself in check when it comes to consumption timing and amount. I will keep this topic in mind for a follow up and hopefully 2024 will have some great studies about how it further impacts our health.

Access the Full Article: Click Here!

This podcast was recommended to me by one of my clients, Kristie, and I could not have loved it more. Michael Easter, author of "The Comfort Crisis" and "Scarcity Brain", deep dives into so many relatable topics involving health. Some of my favorites that were discussed were loneliness and being alone, the effects noisy cities have on us, why our ancestors were fitter than we are, and embracing discomfort during crises. While these were some of my favorite topics, there were many more intriguing ones that spark some thoughts in my head about maybe making some adjustments to my lifestyle and routines. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!