Rebecca L. Tingle, MPA¹, Mary D Overpeck, DrPH¹, Darmendra Ramcharran, MPH², and Rebecca Ledsky, MBA². (1) HRSA/MCHB, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18-41, Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443-0700, rtingle@hrsa.gov, (2) Health Systems Research, Inc., 1200 18th St, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036

Objective: To examine the association between caffeine usage in U.S. adolescents and the frequency that feeling tired in the morning and having difficulty sleeping is reported.

Methods: Univariate, bivariate, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on data from the Health Behavior in School Children survey; a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 15,686 U.S. students in grades six through 10.

Results: More than one-fourth of U.S. students in grades six through 10 report difficulty sleeping once a week or more, and nearly two-thirds of U.S. students report feeling tired in the morning more than once per week. Adolescents that have a high intake of caffeine, in the form of soft drinks or coffee, report having difficulty sleeping and feeling tired in the morning and with greater frequency than those with a low caffeine intake. The majority of students report drinking soda more than once a day, while more than two-thirds report drinking soda once a day or more. U.S. students reporting a high caffeine intake were 1.9 times more likely to have difficulty sleeping and were 1.8 times more likely to be tired in the morning than students who reported a very low caffeine intake.

Conclusions: Feeling tired in the morning and having difficulty sleeping is experienced more commonly in adolescents that have a high intake of caffeine. Frequent caffeine consumption may contribute to interruption of the normal sleep cycle; thus, causing tiredness in the morning. In addition, the stimulatory properties of caffeine may cause adolescents to experience difficulty sleeping.

Learning Objectives:

• To describe the association between caffeine usage in U.S. adolescents and feeling tired in the morning or having difficulty sleeping,
• to describe the frequency of difficulty getting to sleep or feeling tired in the morning by the demographic characteristics of gender, age and race/ethnicity, and
• to describe the frequency of U.S. adolescent caffeine consumption in the form of soft drinks or coffee.

Keywords: Nutrition, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.