Consumption of Green Tea and its Health Effect on Sleeping among Hong Kong Young Adults

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Green tea is made from the plant Camellia Sinensis’s leaves without fermentation (Suzuki, Miyoshi & Isemura, 2012) and is regarded as a popular and healthy drink in Asian countries because of its health-promoting potentials such as protecting against cancer and cardiovascular disease (Harvard Health Publications, 2012; Iwasaki et al., 2014). Lots of the positive effects are due to the antioxidative activity of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is a major component of green tea (Suzuki et al., 2012). And it draws researchers’ interests and attentions to further investigate. According to Suzuki et al., one example of the health advantages is that catechins in green tea bring an anti-obesity effect by stimulating lipid metabolism in liver (2012).

However, green tea may bring us undesirable outcomes due to some constituents. Caffeine is one of those substances that is diuretic and reduces the fatigue sensation but the consequences of overconsumption are well proved that it will decrease sleeping duration and worsen sleeping quality by inducing sleeplessness (Suzuki et al., 2012). A study found out that tea intake of university students was significantly linked to sleeping quality (Cheng et al., 2012). However, the types of tea were not investigated. The effect of green tea consumption on sleep quality is still not well documented.

Sleep is very important to our body for relaxation, preparing ourselves for the next day. Unfortunately, poor sleeping quality is prevalent in modern cities such as Hong Kong. An increasing number of university students have stated sleep problems. (Suen, Hon & Tam, 2008). Meerlo, Mistlberger, Jacobs, Heller & McGinty (2009) have reported that prolonged sleep loss may affect the rate of neurogenesis...

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