Does dietary caffeine, sleep restriction, and laboratory stress affect blood pressure and hemodynamics in healthy volunteers?
Dietary caffeine and sleep restriction induce distinct vascular and hemodynamic responses that may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk over time.
This study examined the separate and interactive effects of caffeine, sleep restriction, and task-induced laboratory stress in 96 healthy male and female volunteers. Participants alternated weekly between ingesting placebo and caffeine (1.75 mg/kg) three times daily for 4 consecutive weeks, while being either rested or sleep restricted. Finapres measurements of blood pressure, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance showed that caffeine produced persistent blood pressure increases with a vascular hemodynamic profile. Sleep restriction produced a pronounced vascular response not associated with appreciable changes in blood pressure, whereas blood pressure increases induced by cognitive activity showed mixed cardiac and vascular responses. The findings suggest that life-long dietary caffeine may contribute significantly to the development of cardiovascular disease.
James et al. (2004) studied this question.
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