A moderate dose of caffeine ingestion does not change energy expenditure but decreases sleep time in physically active males: a double-blind randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Research on the effect of caffeine on energy expenditure (EE), physical activity (PA), and total sleep time (TST) during free-living conditions using objective measures is scarce. We aimed to determine the impact of a moderate dose of caffeine on TST, resting EE (REE), physical activity EE (PAEE), total EE (TEE), and daily time spent in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensity activities in a 4-day period and the acute effects on heart rate (HR) and EE in physically active males. Using a double-blind crossover trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01477294) with two conditions (4 days each with 3-day washout) randomly ordered as caffeine (5 mg/kg of body mass/day) and placebo (maltodextrin) administered twice per day (2.5 mg/kg), 30 nonsmoker males, low-caffeine users (<100 mg/day), aged 20-39, were followed. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. PA was assessed by accelerometry, while a combined HR and movement sensor estimated EE and HR on the second hour after the first administration dose. REE was assessed by indirect calorimetry, and PAEE was calculated as [TEE - (REE + 0.1TEE)]. TST and daily food records were obtained. Repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA were used. After a 4-day period, adjusting for fat-free mass, PAEE, and REE, TST was reduced (p = 0.022) under caffeine intake, while no differences were found between conditions for REE, PAEE, TEE, and PA patterns. Also, no acute effects on HR and EE were found between conditions. Though a large individual variability was observed, our findings revealed no acute or long-term effects of caffeine on EE and PA but decreased TST during free-living conditions in healthy males.
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There were insufficient data to determine whether the effect of caffeine was altered with repeated exposure.
“Given the limited number of studies [32,37,40,46,52] in which caffeine was administered over several days, there were insuf fi cient data to determine whether the effect of caffeine was altered with repeated exposure.”
From The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [32]
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- Authors
- Júdice, P. B., Magalhães, J. P., Santos, D. A., Matias, C. N., Carita, A. I., Armada-Da-Silva, P. A. S., Sardinha, L. B., & Silva, A. M.
- Affiliations
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo da Performance Humana (PT)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism
- Publisher
- Canadian Science Publishing
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 49-56
- ISSN
- 1715-5312 (ISSN-L)
- 1715-5320
- OpenAlex
- W2025697960
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 1.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Coffee research and impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- caffeine, energy expenditure, total sleep time, physical activity, resting energy expenditure, physical activity energy expenditure, total energy expenditure, heart rate, sedentary behavior, free-living conditions
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Caffeine, Calorimetry, Indirect, Double-Blind Method, Energy Metabolism, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Motor Activity, Polysaccharides, Rest, Sleep, Time Factors, Cross-Over Studies, Young Adult, Accelerometry
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