Welcome to the UChicago Student Wellness "Snooze"letter!
We hope to provide you with updated statistics in the world of sleep and some helpful reminders to continue to prioritize your sleep and overall health.
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This newsletter is intended to provide some helpful reminders from the Refresh Sleep program and some new content to help you continue to prioritize your sleep and overall health.
In Module 5 of Refresh Sleep, we learned about constructing your sleep environment and how it can take between 9-21 hours for your liver to metabolize the caffeine in your system. So, maybe next time you want to have that after dinner espresso, you might want to skip it.
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Caffeine is the most widely used (and often abused) psychoactive stimulant in the world. Millions of people rely on caffeine every day to stay alert and improve concentration. Many of us can't imagine starting the day without a cup of coffee or another prized caffeinated beverage. Caffeine is absorbed within 45 minutes after consuming and peaks in the blood anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
People can develop a "caffeine tolerance" when consumed regularly, which can reduce the effects unless a higher amount is consumed.
Listen, we get it, we love caffeine too! But it is important to learn how to navigate your caffeine consumption and make sure you are still getting the best sleep possible.
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Caffeine does not give our bodies energy in the way we might think. Our body uses a neurotransmitter called adenosine. Caffeine has a really unique ability to fit into the receptor sites because it looks structurally similar. With caffeine in those receptors, it mutes your adenosine receptors and your body does not always recognize that your body is tired.
Caffeine intake later in the day can interfere with good sleep quality. In healthy adults, caffeine has a half-life of five hours, which means that around half of the caffeine consumed will be eliminated from the body in five hours.
We suggest setting a caffeine curfew - this is a deadline that you follow that makes sure that you can eliminate as much caffeine from your body by the time bedtime comes. For most people, it's generally before 2 PM. So, start there and see how you feel!
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Matthew Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, and a former professor of psychiatry at Harvard University.
In the video, Matthew Walker speaks about the caffeine half-life and how caffeine can change your quality of sleep during your REM cycle. He also speaks about alcohol and how it is problematic to your sleep because alcohol has sedation effects which does not allow for natural sleep.
In the two-part series podcasts episodes below, Matthew unpacks the world of coffee and caffeine. He takes a deep dive into ways that caffeine negatively impacts your sleep. He then talks about the health benefits of caffeine, despite the negative impact on sleep.
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What Type of Coffee Are You?
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Black coffee, latté, café affogato, etc.- we want to know!
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| What Position Do You Sleep In?
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Stomach, side, or corpse pose- was this accurate for you?
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If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Bridget Marley (bmarley@uchicago.edu). If at anytime you feel the need for additional support for your sleep concerns, please contact UChicago Student Wellness (wellness.uchicago.edu or 773.834.WELL) to set up an appointment.
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