Sleep and Caffeine: Memory, Cognition, and Emotional Bias in a College-aged Population
Advisor(s)
Dr. Megan Clegg-Kraynok
Confirmation
1
Document Type
Poster
Location
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Start Date
24-4-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
24-4-2026 12:50 PM
Abstract
Caffeine consumption to counteract poor sleep and enhance cognitive function is ubiquitous. Given that poor sleep leads to worse memory and cognitive performance, less is known about how caffeine alleviates these effects in a college-aged population, nor are the potential emotional side effects well known. In this study we aim to evaluate the effects of sleep quality and duration on memory, emotional bias in memory, and the efficacy of wake- and sleep-aids to mitigate these effects. The current study is a correlational study using a college-aged population in which participants complete sleep assessments such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morning-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and Satisfaction, Alertness, Timing, Efficiency, Duration (SATED), Memory was evaluated using the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) word list to measure memory recall and recognition over both short- and long-term memory, while assessing potential emotional biases in participants’ memory. Potential covariates will be controlled statistically. We hypothesize that poorer measures of sleep will be related to worse memory performance, but this effect will be moderated by caffeine consumption. Additionally, sleep-aids with poor sleep will correlate with increased memory performance compared to poor sleep without sleep-aids. Lastly, we hypothesize that caffeine users will remember the arousing words better than the non-arousing words in the word list, compared to the other conditions.
Recommended Citation
Welker, Troy R.; Klare, Megan; Paige, Natalie A.; Procter, Je'Leycia; Meyer, Rylee N.; and Clegg-Kraynok, Megan, "Sleep and Caffeine: Memory, Cognition, and Emotional Bias in a College-aged Population" (2026). ONU Student Research Colloquium. 72.
https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/student_research_colloquium/2026/Posters/72
Open Access
Available to all.
Sleep and Caffeine: Memory, Cognition, and Emotional Bias in a College-aged Population
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Caffeine consumption to counteract poor sleep and enhance cognitive function is ubiquitous. Given that poor sleep leads to worse memory and cognitive performance, less is known about how caffeine alleviates these effects in a college-aged population, nor are the potential emotional side effects well known. In this study we aim to evaluate the effects of sleep quality and duration on memory, emotional bias in memory, and the efficacy of wake- and sleep-aids to mitigate these effects. The current study is a correlational study using a college-aged population in which participants complete sleep assessments such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Morning-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and Satisfaction, Alertness, Timing, Efficiency, Duration (SATED), Memory was evaluated using the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) word list to measure memory recall and recognition over both short- and long-term memory, while assessing potential emotional biases in participants’ memory. Potential covariates will be controlled statistically. We hypothesize that poorer measures of sleep will be related to worse memory performance, but this effect will be moderated by caffeine consumption. Additionally, sleep-aids with poor sleep will correlate with increased memory performance compared to poor sleep without sleep-aids. Lastly, we hypothesize that caffeine users will remember the arousing words better than the non-arousing words in the word list, compared to the other conditions.