The Pros and Cons of Using Caffeine to Combat Sleep Deprivation

In today’s episode, Eric Trexler discusses the relationships between sleep, health, and fitness. First, he discusses how sleep impairments can negatively impact health-related outcomes and impede progress toward a variety of fitness-related goals. After that, he describes a number of practical strategies to get better sleep and to mitigate the negative impacts of insufficient sleep.

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TIME STAMPS

Intro/Announcements (0:00)

Issues that arise from insufficient sleep quality and/or quantity (1:58)

Impact on health (circadian biology; research in shift workers) (2:17)

• https://www.strongerbyscience.com/chrononutrition/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31132107/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32895261/

Impact on training quality (17:29)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29944513/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35708888/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31288293/

Impact on appetite (21:16)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25012962/

Impact on body composition (25:04)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32141273/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20921542/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33400856/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32078168/

Strategies to minimize the impact of insufficient sleep (31:03)

Caffeine (32:23)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33388079/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24235903/

Napping (40:14)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31491444/

Caffeinated napping (41:54)

• https://www.strongerbyscience.com/research-spotlight-caffeine-naps/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33571957/

Modifications to your training program (46:47)

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33298711/

Sleep hygiene (54:43)

Light/dark cycles, sleep/wake cycle consistency (1:03:07)

Other notable elements of good sleep hygiene (1:13:31)

Supplements for sleep (1:17:56)

Summary (1:26:18)

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