Life is full and fast-paced. Caffeine is how we keep up.
It gives us the energy we need to get by.
But how exactly does it do that?
A shot of energy
We all know a dose of caffeine can miraculously transform how we feel and perform.
It changes a slow, foggy brain into a clear, quick-thinking one.
It turns a vague, blurry gaze into a laser-sharp focus.
It replaces a lazy slouch with a commanding straight back and broad shoulders.
It shifts a sluggish body from idle into an energetic higher gear.
It swings a dark mood into a brighter, more positive and constructive one.
It enables us to kick off each day and get past that afternoon slump.
Put simply, caffeine solves many of our daily challenges.
We know it’s only a short-term fix. But we also know that’s easily fixed by another dose.
What we don’t know so well is how caffeine works to lift our body and performance.
So it’s about time we get a better understanding and give a little appreciation for how our good friend caffeine helps us along.
How it works its magic
Once we consume caffeine (usually through beverages such as coffee, tea and soft drinks), it heads off to our gastrointestinal tract. There it’s rapidly and almost entirely absorbed – a whopping 99% absorption within 45 minutes of ingestion – and distributed into our bloodstream.
Caffeine’s action stems from its ability to pass through all of our body’s cell walls. In particular, it boasts the ability to pass through our strictly-controlled blood-brain barrier.
This is what enables caffeine to exert its influence on our central nervous system, which includes our brain, to create those physiological and performance benefits.
Without getting bogged down in too much detail, caffeine acts as a stimulant on our nervous system through a sneaky little tactic involving a substance called adenosine.
Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that acts as a depressant in that it slows activity in our nervous system. Over the course of each day, our adenosine level progressively rises, which causes us to become increasingly tired.
Until we shake things up with a hit of caffeine.
That caffeine rushes in and binds itself to receptors that are normally reserved for adenosine. This in turn blocks the neural slowing and tiredness that adenosine causes.
Then our brain interprets this heightened activity as a bit of an emergency. And so adrenaline is released and our body’s fight or flight response is activated.
This causes those well-known symptoms of a caffeine rush – the increase in heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, circulation, energy, visual focus, concentration, cognitive function and muscle activation.
We’re prepared for action.
How we come to love it
Ok so caffeine can help us cope. But what is it that makes us enjoy caffeine so much? To the point it’s our first waking thought and something we’re happy to pour considerable money into.
In fact, a massive 1.4 billion cups of of coffee are estimated to be enjoyed around the world each and every day.
Well, like other stimulants, caffeine also triggers the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Dopamine is commonly known as the “feel good” chemical because it activates the reward areas of our brain.
Caffeine biologically hits the spot and makes us feel better. And this is despite caffeine having a bitter taste that most of us find unpleasant at first.
The accompanying hit of dopamine with caffeine means we push past that initial distaste and build ourselves a solid caffeine habit – if not addiction.
It leads us to intrinsically reach for caffeine each time we’re feeling low and need a pick-me-up.
Too much of a good thing
Given that caffeine is legal, cheap and easily-accessible as well as effective and enjoyable, it’s easy for us to indulge in more than we maybe should.
But how much is too much?
Well, that’s a highly individual question.
As we’re likely to have noticed, caffeine affects each of us differently. For some, a single shot in the morning can keep you buzzing all day long and unable to sleep at night. While others can down copious quantities with little effect.
For example, peak caffeine concentration can vary widely – from 15 to 120 minutes after ingestion. Equally, the time it takes for caffeine level in our body to drop to half of their peak concentration can vary from 1.5 to 9.5 hours.
So we need to get to know how our body reacts and manage caffeine intake accordingly.
In particular, we need to be mindful of symptoms of over-stimulation, such as a racing heart, as well dehydration, and reduced sleep duration and quality.
Like all things lifestyle, some common sense, intuition and balance will allow us to reap the benefits of caffeine whilst avoiding the drawbacks.
Related: Take a deep breath and blow away stress. | MorHealth
