Sleep and Caffeine

Along with good nutrition and vigorous exercise, sleep is an important component of weight management. Without adequate sleep, you may feel too tired to be active during the day or exercise after school. When you sleep, your body secretes growth hormones which help you grow big and strong. Children your age need 9-11 hours of sleep per night (or more).  However, many children don’t get enough sleep because they have too many activities planned for the day, watch TV late into the night or have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

Establish good sleeping habits:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekend, and be sure this time span is at least 9 hours long (like 9pm-6am);
• Do your exercise several hours before bedtime;
• Do something relaxing before bed – take a bath or read a book – but limit TV time;
• If you don’t fall asleep right away, don’t give up ... staying in bed will help more than turning on the lights or TV;
• Limit your caffeine intake!

Caffeine can delay the onset of sleep. It can also interfere with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage when people dream. Dreaming is important because this is when your brain stores all the things you learned in your memory. Caffeine also prevents your body from getting enough calcium and it can cause nervousness, irritability and headaches. It’s also addictive!

Coffee, tea, soda and chocolate contain caffeine (see list below). Limit your caffeine to no more than 100 mg/day. That’s the amount in two 12 ounce Diet Cokes. Less is better. Buy decaffeinated beverages when you can (and always buy diet) or choose beverages that are naturally low in caffeine. Limit chocolate and coffee flavored foods as well.

If you experience headaches when trying to cut down on your caffeine intake, you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Over the counter pain relievers will alleviate the pain. Just buy one that is caffeine free! Continue to cut back on caffeine. If the headache persists for more than 3-4 days, call your doctor.

¹ Serving sizes are based on commonly eaten portions, pharmaceutical instructions, or the amount of the leading-selling container size. For example, beverages sold in 16-ounce or half-liter bottles were counted as one serving. ² Sources: National Coffee Association, National Soft Drink Association, Tea Council of the USA, and information provided by food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies and J.J. Barone, H.R. Roberts (1996) “Caffeine Consumption.” Food Chemistry and Toxicology, vol. 34, pp. 119-129. - From NAH December 1996