The Science of Coffee

Given its energizing properties, it seems sense that coffee is the second most traded commodity worldwide, just after oil. For many of us, it helps us get through our hectic days and stay alert. However, how does it operate? What specific effects does coffee have on the brain?

Adenosine is a substance that gradually builds up in your brain whenever you are awake.

Furthermore, this adenosine attaches to receptors that decrease brain activity; in the end, the more adenosine in the body, the more exhausted your brain feels. Which makes sense because you get more tired the longer you stay awake.

On the other hand, when you sleep, adenosine's concentration decreases, progressively encouraging alertness.

However, it turns out that the structural similarities between caffeine and adenosine are striking. After entering the brain through the circulation, caffeine begins to compete with and attach to adenosine receptors there. But, the "sleepiness" effect isn't experienced since it isn't adenosine. Adenosine's soothing effects are lessened when it can no longer bind.

It is fantastic for you in terms of fatigue! Long-term caffeine usage, however, causes your brain to react by producing more adenosine receptors, which implies that more caffeine is needed to get the same effect.This implies that you may suffer withdrawal symptoms and feel more exhausted than you would have before you ever drank coffee if you attempt to stop or miss your usual consumption!

The caffeine doesn't end there, though! Additionally, it increases the synthesis of adrenaline, which is known as the "Fight or Flight" hormone. Your blood begins to circulate, your heart rate rises, and your airways even widen as a result. Additionally, it lowers dopamine levels by stopping the brain from reabsorbing it, which lifts your spirits! Actually, cocaine has the exact same effect here, but to a smaller extent. It is, after all, a medication! Coffee's mildly addictive quality is also a result of this dopamine activation.

Can you thus have too much coffee? It turns out that there is a fatal caffeine dosage, which is around 150 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight. This implies that a 70 kg person would need 14,000 mg of caffeine to overdose. To put things in perspective, an average cup of coffee has about 150 mg of caffeine. If you weigh 70 kg, that means drinking about 70 cups of coffee would be fatal. If you were to consume those cups all at once, it would be almost impossible for you to overindulge in caffeine from coffee since your stomach could not accommodate that much.

Before you got to this stage, you would also start having hallucinations and manic episodes.

Moreover, caffeine has a half-life of around six hours. This means that if you consumed a typical coffee that had 150 mg of caffeine, after six hours your body would only contain 75 mg, giving you just half the benefit. You'll then take 37.5 mg six hours later, giving adenosine more time to start working again. To keep that wonderful, alert, and energizing sensation throughout the day, you might go for another cup.

So enjoy your drink! And savor the excitement while it lasts.

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