Do you love the intake of caffeine regularly? Are you coffeeholic? Do you need tea, green tea or coffee to alert your brain? Have you ever wondered what caffeine does to your brain? Then have a look, caffeine is the ultimate stimulant within the coffee, tea, foods, and different beverages. The use of caffeine enhances the activity within the central nervous system. It is one of the commonly used drugs that we consume in most of our foods and beverages. Caffeine does offer the body with some beneficial effects but most of the effects are harmful to the brain and body in the long-term. This ultimate psychoactive drug increases alertness and energy levels but on the other hand, it also results in anxiety, jittery feeling, irritability, increased heart rate or insomnia.
Caffeine works chemically to enhance the energy levels in the brain. When studying the chemical structure of caffeine, it is the same as adenosine which is a chemical present in our body that leads to sleepiness. So as soon as we consume caffeine, it binds to the adenosine receptors in our brain that prevents the chemicals to bind with the brain receptors and ultimately keeps us awake without us being tired. Adenosine is a chemical in our brain which promotes sleep and results in reduced neuronal activity making us feel sleepy at the end of the day. Caffeine competes with adenosine and binds over the adenosine receptors and prevents any slow firing of neurons making you feel active and energetic. However, if you are regular caffeine consumers, then your brain starts developing adenosine receptors in excess which is why we need more caffeine to stay awake.
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Caffeine also has different effects over our body where it enhances the adrenaline supply leading to increased heart rate, increased blood to the heart and other organs along with the patent airway. Caffeine also affects the dopamine supply within our brain. It prevents the reabsorption of dopamine into the blood due to which this happy chemical stays around our brain for longer making us feel happy. But this increased dopamine level in the body makes you addicted to caffeine so be aware of it. Caffeine makes you feel energetic, alert, improves mood, makes you feel more productive and increases brain excitability.
Caffeine promotes mental performance, according to a study published in 2012, it was seen that caffeine’s improved the performance of participants in different tasks like response timing, information processing, and proofreading tasks. A review was published during 2010 which showed that caffeine might show improvement in reaction times and vigilance. If caffeine is consumed at the recommended doses then it can enhance the mood by influencing neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Caffeine is also prescribed for patients who experience drowsiness or fatigue to improve mental alertness. If caffeine is consumed in excess doses then it might result in anxiety rather than uplifting the mood.
Multiple studies show that caffeine can enhance brain functions in the short-term. It enhances the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline. Caffeine also affects short-term memory and enhances learning. Caffeine is largely consumed to make you feel energetic and awake while making you more productive. It suppresses the feeling of being fatigued but if you consume caffeine during late evening or night time then it will interrupt your sleep pattern and result in insomnia. Consuming caffeine also reduces your risk to suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the main cause of dementia all over the world which can result in memory loss while Parkinson’s disease results in the death of neurons within the brain and is the chronic disease of the nervous system. Consuming moderate amounts of caffeine is healthy and offers beneficial effects to the brain but if consumed in excess it causes a negative impact over the brain and body leading to severe signs and symptoms.
Until Next Time,
Team Doctor ASKY!