Are energy drinks safe for teens? A new study by the Swiss National Science Foundation provides evidence that caffeine consumption may slow brain development during puberty, a time in which the brain matures the fastest and deep sleep is of utmost importance.
As children grow, the number of synapses (connections) in the brain increase, reaching their highest level during puberty before dropping off in adulthood.
As the average caffeine consumption of children and adults has increased by 70 percent over the past 30 years, notably in the form of popular energy drinks, many are concerned about the effects of the drug on the developing brain as well as other associated health risks.
During puberty, humans and other mammals show intensive sleeping patterns that are important for brain development. When researchers gave the caffeine equivalent of three to four cups of coffee per day to pubescent rats, they discovered that their brains delayed the maturing process as deep sleep was significantly reduced.
Led by Reto Huber of the University Children's Hospital Zurich, the latest study involved 30-day-old rats, whose brain waves and sleep periods were measured over the course of five days. Compared to the rats that were given pure drinking water, the rats that drank caffeine were more timid and cautious, their deep sleep periods (characterized by slow brain waves) reduced well beyond the end of the five-day caffeine administration period.
Although the brains of rats are very different from humans, researchers can use these findings to draw parallels to the brain development of tweens and teenagers and raise awareness about the risks of caffeine consumption during puberty.
"The brain of children is extremely plastic due to the many connections," Huber said in a press release. As the brain begins to mature during puberty, a large number of these connections are lost. "This optimization presumably occurs during deep sleep. Key synapses extend, others are reduced; this makes the network more efficient and the brain more powerful."
