Sugary caffeine drinks linked to poorer sleep in young women
What it found
In 462 young women, those who drank energy drinks or high-calorie coffee drinks reported poorer sleep quality.
The study cannot show whether the drinks caused the poor sleep.
What they found
Studies in people
Poor sleep was common
Almost half of the women (45%) reported poor sleep quality based on their questionnaire scores.
Energy drinks and sleep
Women who reported drinking any energy drinks had worse sleep quality scores than those who drank none. Their scores were 0.84 points higher on a scale where higher means poorer sleep.
High-calorie coffee drinks
Women who drank one or more high-calorie coffee drinks per day had worse sleep quality scores than those who drank none. Their scores were 1.00 point higher.
Sleep latency and coffee
Women who drank at least one high-calorie coffee drink per day took about 8.7 minutes longer to fall asleep on average.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruit and vegetable intake was not linked to sleep quality scores in this study.
Sugar-sweetened drinks
After accounting for other factors, drinking at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day was no longer significantly linked to poor sleep quality.
What the authors conclude
“Young women with poor sleep quality should consider their sugary caffeine use to determine if it may be associated with their sleep.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that young women with poor sleep quality should consider their sugary caffeine use to see if it may be linked to their sleep.
- They note that the study was cross-sectional and cannot prove cause and effect.
- They suggest it is possible that sleep problems lead to sugary caffeine consumption, which may lead to more sleep problems.
How it was done
The authors wanted to study how diet relates to sleep quality in young adults, since this age group goes through major life changes that can affect both sleep and eating habits.
They asked 462 women around age 23 about their sleep quality over the past month and their intake of fruits, vegetables, soda, sports drinks, other sweetened drinks, and coffee drinks over the past 7 days.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a cross-sectional study, so it can only show a link between sugary caffeine drinks and poor sleep, not that the drinks caused the poor sleep.
- The study only included women, so the results may not apply to men.
- All data were self-reported, and sleep was not measured with a device.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NHLBI NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of Arizona College of Medicine, USA
The paper
- Title
- Dietary behaviors and poor sleep quality among young adult women: watch that sugary caffeine!
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Young DR, Sidell MA, Grandner MA, Koebnick C, Troxel W (2020). Dietary behaviors and poor sleep quality among young adult women: watch that sugary caffeine!. Sleep health. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2019.12.006Free full textPubMed 31932239DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error