Caffeine Research Essay

Every day, people all over the world begin their days with a cup of coffee, or some other form of caffeine to give them the energy “boost” that gets them going. In recent years, caffeine is becoming more common and easier to consume with the abundance of energy drinks on the market. This use of caffeine is widely known and taken advantage of, however, caffeine can have some other important effects on our brains as well, including being used in medicines that need to be sent to the brain. Caffeine also has the ability to provide a boosting benefit for the brain, both in the short term and the long term, by interacting with numerous chemical pathways, especially those involving adenosine, in the brain, typically by inhibitory effects.

Caffeine, a popularly consumed central nervous system stimulant is consumed on a day to day basis around the globe. Caffeine can be ingested into the body by either eating it or drinking it. Caffeine comes in forms of many processed foods such as coffee, chocolate bars, candy, sodas, and energy drinks as well as tea. For example millions of people all around the world consume coffee on a daily basis. Due to the large consumption of caffeine, both the negative and positive side effects of consuming it have been well researched and documented. However the long term effects are much more significant, the short term side effects of caffeine may not appear to be as extreme. The regulation of caffeine consumption is crucial in order to guarantee that one does not become dependent on it, and to ensure that an individual’s body will not be damaged by doing so. The evidence that backed up the claim that coffee is best consumed in small amounts and not on a daily basis is overwhelming and clearly shows that coffee consumption must be carefully regulated and controlled.

Caffeine is a photoactive stimulant found in plant species. These plant species vary including tea, coffee and cocoa. The caffeine is absorbed fully into the stomach and small intestine after 30 to 45 minutes, which is the peak of the caffeine. The caffeine is in a person’s body for up to 4 hours. Caffeine has consequences if over dosed. Anxiety, heart palpitations, headaches, insomnia and nervousness are all physical and mental conditions that can be present if you have caffeinism. This research gives me an insight into caffeine I would have never known if I did not chose this topic to study.

(Childs and de Wit, 2006) They recruited participants in the age group of 18-35 (N=102) with males (n=51) and females (n=51) to “investigate the effects of acute caffeine administration in individuals who do not regularly consume caffeine.” (Childs and de Wit, 2006, p. 515) The demographic variables did not have a significant impact upon these results. This study was comprised of three levels of caffeine that were consumed. When given larger doses of caffeine their tests showed their working memory, or short-term, did not produce beneficial results. However, it did not impact their memory as time passed during the test. Reaction times were also lower with the higher doses as well. In their final findings they discovered that, “a low dose of caffeine enhanced self-reported alertness in the absence of any other effects upon mood and behavioral performance.” (Childs and de Wit, 2006, p. 521) The higher doses did not produce the same results within the total group of participants instead with a higher dose the effects became more diverse. While it made some participants moods happier it made others incur more anxiety. As stated before their working memory and reaction times

? In this research researchers will be examining participants who use caffeine frequently to see if there are any harmful neurological effects. Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance and has sometimes been considered a drug of abuse (Chawla et al,2017).Therefore if this drug is widely use it is beneficial to understand it neuropsychological effects on the consumer.

In the neocortex, acetylcholine (ACh) stimulates arousal and plays a major role in attention and working memory (Jones, 2008). Neuropsychological studies on caffeine report increased arousal, alertness, increased energy and concentration (Smith, 2002; Ruxton, 2008; Brunye´ et al., 2010) even at doses as low as 50 mg, which is comparable to the amount of caffeine in a cup of tea. It has been indicated that even in low doses caffeine improves performance on attention tasks (Brunye´ et al., 2010a). However, caffeine intake has also been associated with anxiety, nervousness, irritability, insomnia and even panic attacks (Bruce et al., 1992; Lieberman, 1992; Sicard et al., 1996) . During an elevated plus maze test of anxiety in rats, it was found that high doses of caffeine brought a remarkably increased anxiety-like behavior (Jain et al., 2005).

Caffeine has a huge effect on the body and mind. It can lead to a kind of addiction. Many people feel like they need caffeine to function in their daily routine. Without caffeine in their system their body may begin to shut down. The most popular beverages in the United States, such as coffee, tea, and soda, contain significant amounts of caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and the most commonly used drug in the world. Every day, millions consume it to increase wakefulness, alleviate fatigue, and improve concentration and focus. Other stimulants may have the very similar effects on the body, the symptom similarities are uncanny.

Caffeine will not give you unusual or “superhuman” abilities, but instead may help you reach your peak mental alertness.

Caffeine stimulates the nervous system says medical dictionary. Caffeine's purpose is to help coordination, wake you, make you more aware, and helps drugs work fast and efficiently. (Medical Dictionary) Body temperature, blood flow, production of liver, sugar levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and, stomach acids secretion all rises from caffeine reports University of Michigan. A few of the behavioral consequences of caffeine, closely reflect the type of results that substances like cocaine would procure. Caffeine is just much more of an ordinary universal stimulants, the most standard common place one in fact. (addiction and recovery,

Caffeine is commonly classified as the most used mood-altering drug in the world. The use of caffeine can cause many caffeine related disorders such as caffeine intoxication, caffeine induced anxiety disorder and caffeine induced sleep disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Caffeine intoxication can be seen when as little as 100mg of caffeine is consumed per day by people who don’t commonly use caffeine. Caffeine intoxication or caffeinism is defined as “a syndrome resulting from the excessive ingestion of caffeine and characterized primarily by cardiovascular and central nervous system manifestations” (Josephson & Stine, 1976, pg 776). Caffeine-induced anxiety and caffeine-induced sleep disorder are two more disorders that can be caused by consuming caffeine. Caffeine-induced anxiety disorder can show effects such as increased anxiety and panic attacks. Also, the main effect of caffeine-induced sleep disorder is noticeable losses or disturbances in sleep. In all, caffeine has more effects than just physical effects on a human. Caffeine can also cause psychological disorders which have very negative effects on a person’s mental

In the world of health one well-known controversy is whether or not caffeine is good for you or if it has any nutritional value. On the pro side of the argument, many doctors have performed new studies showing that caffeine has a lot of positive effects on our health such as reducing the risk of skin cancer which was confirmed in an experiment done by Erikka Loftfield MPH. Based on my research I’ve found that studies also show that caffeine “has been shown to enhance both physical and cognitive performance in younger adults”, as stated by M. J. Duncan in a study done in 2014. Sheena Derry’s studies from the University of Oxford show us that caffeine is a great remedy for pain relief and migraines. Registered dietician Keri Glassman stated in an interview that caffeine can help prevent well known diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s. And lastly, in an article written by Sara Altshul claims have been made that based on a study done in July 2015, caffeine can help improve your memory.

Coffee is essential in the daily morning routine for many. The beverage provides a much-need caffeine boost after a late night of studying or a long night of work. However, according to a recent study by the Department of Bio-molecular and Sport Sciences at Coventry University, caffeine can also improve your cognitive skills. The study titled "The Effect of Acute Caffeine Ingestion on Coincidence Anticipation Timing in Younger and Older Adults," suggests that consuming caffeine may be useful in enhancing functionality, cognition, tasks of daily living, and psychological well-being in older adults. The relatively new study carried out by Michael J. Duncan, Jason Tallis, Sheila Leddington Wright, Emma L. J. Eyre, Elizabeth Bryant, and Dominic Langdon, uncovers "that older adults are more susceptible to the performance-enhancing effects of caffeine than younger adults." An article in The New York Times written by Gretchen Reynolds titled "This is Your Brain on Coffee"

In addition to alertness and mental performance, caffeine may also improve memory and reasoning in sleep-deprived people.

Caffeine has many negative effects on humans, such as increased heart rate (Lane, J.D., 2002), depression (Goldstein, 2008), and addiction to this “drug.” You may be asking yourself, “What is caffeine?” Well, caffeine is actually a stimulant (Barone, Roberts, 2008) that is found in beverages such as tea, coffee, and soft drinks. In fact, caffeine is the highest grossing and most used stimulant in the United States (Barone, Roberts, 2008). It is estimated that 85% of adults living in the United States consume caffeine on a daily basis (Barone, Roberts, 2008). That means for every 100 adults, 85 of them have had a drink that contained caffeine on any given day. One reason caffeine is so widely available compared to other stimulants is

Caffeine is reported to affect behavior and mood in several ways. It is most commonly considered and consumed as a “mild stimulant, helpful in temporarily relieving minor fatigue" (Graham, 1978[Sawyer]). Caffeine has been shown to increase alertness, especially in situations of fatigue or low alertness (Smith, 2002). Caffeine has also been shown to delay fatigue from physical activity (dokoka). Caffeine in doses much higher than are normally consumed has been shown to cause acute anxiety (Smith 2002). However, the literature on caffeine’s arousing properties is conflicting, with most studies claiming that this effect is well documented (smith), while others report that the positive mood effects of caffeine are conditional (James).