What is the half-life of caffeine?
Pro Research Analysisby 
Searched over 200M research papers
Understanding the Half-Life of Caffeine
Caffeine Half-Life in Healthy Adults
The half-life of caffeine in healthy adults is generally around 5 to 6 hours. This means that it takes approximately 5 to 6 hours for the concentration of caffeine in the blood to reduce by half. Studies have shown that peak plasma concentrations of caffeine are typically observed 1 to 2 hours after ingestion, with an approximate half-life of 5 hours3. Another study confirmed this finding, reporting an average half-life of 5.7 hours in healthy subjects1.
Variability in Caffeine Half-Life
Impact of Hepatic Disease
The half-life of caffeine can be significantly prolonged in individuals with compromised liver function. For instance, patients with alcoholic hepatic disease exhibited dramatically extended caffeine half-lives of 60 hours and 168 hours, respectively1. This is due to the liver's crucial role in metabolizing caffeine, and any impairment in liver function can lead to slower caffeine clearance from the body.
Preterm Infants and Neonates
In preterm infants, the half-life of caffeine is notably longer compared to adults. Studies have shown that the mean caffeine half-life in preterm infants can range from 52 hours to as long as 97.6 hours, depending on their gestational and postnatal age5 6. This prolonged half-life is attributed to the immature liver function in neonates, which gradually improves as they grow older.
Breast-Fed Infants
Breast-fed infants also show a delay in caffeine elimination. Research indicates that breast-fed infants have significantly longer caffeine half-lives compared to formula-fed infants, with values ranging from 54 to 76 hours after 46 weeks postconceptional age9. This delay is thought to be due to certain components in human milk that may inhibit the normal maturation process of caffeine metabolism.
Pharmacokinetics in Animals
Studies on animals, such as pigs and mice, have provided additional insights into the pharmacokinetics of caffeine. In pigs, the biological half-life of caffeine was found to be about 12 hours after oral ingestion4. In mice, the maximum organ half-life of caffeine was observed to be around 3 hours, with caffeine appearing in all tissues within 5 minutes of administration10.
Conclusion
The half-life of caffeine varies significantly depending on several factors, including age, liver function, and whether the individual is breast-fed. In healthy adults, the half-life is typically around 5 to 6 hours. However, in individuals with hepatic disease, preterm infants, and breast-fed infants, the half-life can be substantially longer. Understanding these variations is crucial for tailoring caffeine consumption and therapeutic interventions appropriately.
Sources and full results
Most relevant research papers on this topic
Serum caffeine half-lives. Healthy subjects vs. patients having alcoholic hepatic disease.
Alcoholic hepatic disease patients have prolonged serum caffeine half-lives, due to compromised liver function, compared to healthy subjects.
Observational Study
Highly CitedApnea of prematurity and caffeine pharmacokinetics: potential impact on hospital discharge
Discontinuing caffeine in preterm infants with a history of apnea of prematurity may not reach subtherapeutic levels for 11-12 days, requiring careful hospital discharge planning.
Observational Study
Rigorous JournalThe psychopharmacological and electrophysiological effects of single doses of caffeine in healthy human subjects.
Single doses of caffeine can increase alertness and decrease headache and tiredness in healthy subjects, with metabolites playing a role in the study.
RCTHighly CitedBIOLOGICAL HALF-LIFE OF CAFFEINE IN PIGS
Caffeine has a biological half-life of 12 hours in growing pigs, with peak plasma levels reached within 5 hours after oral or intramuscular doses, and its accumulation is limited, requiring withdrawal 2 days prior to slaughter.
Non-RCT
Animal StudyCaffeine pharmacokinetics in preterm infants older than 2 weeks.
Preterm infants older than 2 weeks have a caffeine half-life of 52.03 +/- 23.87 h and a theophylline half-life of 77.04 +/- 65.01 h.
Observational StudyMaturational changes of caffeine concentrations and disposition in infancy during maintenance therapy for apnea of prematurity: influence of gestational age, hepatic disease, and breast-feeding.
Caffeine half-life in premature infants is prolonged during the neonatal period, with gestational age and postconceptional age closely related to hepatic caffeine elimination maturation.
Observational StudyThe fate of caffeine in man and a method for its estimation in biological material.
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, transformed almost completely, and distributed in tissues based on their water content, with no day-to-day accumulation of the drug.
Highly CitedThe absolute bioavailability of caffeine in man
Orally administered caffeine has a rapid absorption rate, resulting in essentially complete bioavailability, with significant inter-subject variability in its elimination.
RCTHighly CitedDelay in caffeine elimination in breast-fed infants.
Breast-fed infants have a delayed caffeine elimination compared to formula-fed infants, suggesting that some components of human milk may inhibit caffeine metabolism.
Observational StudyTissue distribution of caffeine and its metabolites in the mouse.
Caffeine and its major metabolite 1,7-dimethylxanthine show similar tissue distribution in mice, with 1,7-dimethylxanthine being the major metabolite.
Non-RCTAnimal StudyTry another search
What are the ethical considerations in the use of technology for wildlife tracking and biodiversity research?
What is the impact of virtual reality on enhancing empathy and social understanding?
research about advantages and disadvantages of PASS intelligence theory
What is the Machine learning in weather forecasting?
What are the future of transportation?
What is the structure and composition of galaxies?