Many people ingest caffeine daily, but do not actually understand its effects on the body. Caffeine is credited with breaking humankind out of the day-awake and night-sleep circadian cycle, but not many know why caffeine has this effect. Additionally, this substance enhances molecules such as dopamine and norepinephrine in the human body, improving the quality of life for many individuals.
Part of the positive reinforcement aspect is caffeine’s effect on dopamine. Caffeine creates more dopamine receptors in the reward pathway of the brain. Any feeling from the release of Dopamine is enhanced. This is not, however, producing more dopamine, unlike other supplements. The difference is that caffeine does not actually allow the release of more dopamine, so the limited pool of dopamine in one’s brain is not quickly diminished. Instead, caffeine allows people to enjoy more from the same effort they would otherwise put in.
Besides caffeine’s large effect on dopamine, it also plays an even more prominent role in its relationship to another neuromodulator, adenosine. Adenosine is responsible for people becoming tired throughout the day. As the day continues, adenosine builds up until one has a decent rest; adenosine is then cleared from the body.
Caffeine offsets sleepiness by bonding to adenosine receptors, blocking the molecule from doing its job. By ingesting caffeine consistently, individuals can get addicted to its energy inducing properties.
“Sometimes it keeps you way past when you want to be, and sometimes it makes you jittery,” adds sophomore Jenna Rossi, which is an accurate statement, as students especially, will not hesitate to ingest caffeine on an itch, having inverse effects later along the road.
Because of this, many people associate caffeine with sleep-compromising effects. “I have never used caffeine mostly because it is not good for sleep.” sophomore Rachel Jung commented.
Due to caffeine’s long lifespan in the body, it is typically best to ingest caffeine in the morning. Ideally, one would want to delay their caffeine intake from 90 to 120 minutes post-waking. This is to allow for as much adenosine as possible to be expended from the system, for if there is too much residual adenosine in the body upon caffeine ingestion, one will experience the infamous ‘afternoon crash.’
A study was conducted to test the physical changes from caffeine consumption. Those who abstained from caffeine until the final day of the 21-day study did far better than those who took caffeine routinely. However, those who did not abstain still performed above average, including largely improved reaction time and memory enhancing effects.
Caffeine is not all sunshine and dopaminergic rainbows though. Too much caffeine leads to anxiety as a result of a depletion in certain electrolytes, such as Sodium. This may make anxiety attacks and headaches more likely. Additionally, Caffeine is tied with raised blood pressure and elevated heart rate.
This raises the question of how much caffeine is considered a healthy amount to consume. Body weight is a good way to estimate a healthy, useful dose of caffeine. For most people, this means ingesting one to three milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. Although everyone has a different tolerance for caffeine, nobody should be ingesting over 400mg of caffeine in one dose, due to many risks ranging from restlessness to dehydration are likely side effects. Everyone does have a slightly different tolerance for caffeine, which should be kept in mind.
Caffeine is a highly used substance in modern-day society, so it can be beneficial to understand its exact effects. While caffeine may cause minor health issues in particular individuals, its quality-of-life-enhancing effects are also widely desirable. Ultimately, it is up to the individual, with potential advice from a healthcare professional, to decide whether or not caffeine is an option for them and worthwhile to use in their life.