What Is Caffeine, and Is It Good or Bad for Health?
Caffeineis a natural stimulant most commonly found in tea, coffee, and cacao plants.
It works by stimulating the brain and central nervous system, helping you stay alert and prevent the onset of tiredness.
Historians track the first brewed tea as far back as 2737 B.C. (1).
Coffee was reportedly discovered many years later by an Ethiopian shepherd who noticed the extra energy it gave his goats.
Nowadays, 80% of the world’s population consumes a caffeinated product each day, and this number goes up to 90% for adults in North America (1).
Caffeine: How much is too much?
Caffeine has its perks, but it can pose problems too. Find out how much is too much and if you need to curb your consumption.
If you rely on caffeine to wake you up and keep you going, you aren’t alone. Millions of people rely on caffeine every day to stay alert and improve concentration.
How Caffeine Affects Your Body
Caffeine boosts your energy and mood and makes you more alert. That can sometimes be helpful, especially in the morning or when you’re trying to work. Though your body doesn’t store it, caffeine can affect you for up to 6 hours after you swallow it. But more is not always better. Too much can push you over the line from alert to jittery and anxious.
What to Know About Caffeine Use
Caffeineis currently the world’s most commonly used drug.1It is present in many foods and drinks, which makes it is easy to forget that it is a drug. It is even an ingredient in beverages and foods that are marketed to children. While caffeine has some health benefits, it does have significant negative effects on the body and brain.
Unlike many otherpsychoactive drugs, caffeine is legal and is one of the most widely used substances in the world.
Can You Flush Out Caffeine? Tips and More
If you’ve had one too many cups of coffee and are feeling jittery, you may wonder if there’s a way to flush the excess caffeine from your system.
Caffeine is a natural stimulant that millions of people rely on each day. Yet, consuming too much of it may cause side effects like difficulty sleeping, an increased heart rate, jitters, and shakiness
This article explains whether you can flush out caffeine and provides tips for reducing jitters and other uncomfortable effects.
Caffeine Addiction Symptoms and Withdrawal
Caffeine addiction is the excessive and/or harmful use ofcaffeineover a period of time, which has negative effects on your health, social interactions, or other areas of your life. As caffeine is a widely accepted and used drug, many people don’t believe caffeine can be addictive.
While most caffeine users feel they enjoy many of theeffects of caffeine, like a good “morning boost,” they may not be aware of some of the negative effects the drug is having, such as disruptedsleep, irritability, and anxiety.Many people, for example, get into a vicious cycle of drinking coffee to increase energy, only to find themselves both fatigued and unable to relax at bedtime.
How does caffeine keep us awake? – Hanan Qasim
Over 100,000 metric tons of caffeine are consumed around the world every year. That’s equivalent to the weight of 14 Eiffel Towers! Caffeine helps us feel alert, focused, and energetic, even if we haven’t had enough sleep — but it can also raise our blood pressure and make us feel anxious. So how does it keep us awake? Hanan Qasim shares the science behind the world’s most widely used drug.
Lesson by Hanan Qasim, directed by Adriatic Animation.
Which roast has more caffeine?
It’s not a question of light or dark roast. Nope. The amount of caffeine is decided by the amount of coffee used when brewing. Want more caffeine kick? Then just add more coffee!
Some coffee drinkers think dark roasts are stronger and have more caffeine kick than light roasts. The truth, however, is that caffeine content remains pretty much the same during each stage of the roasting process. The difference between roasts is taste, not the amount of caffeine. The simple rule of thumb is: It ain’t the shade of bean; just add more coffee to get more caffeine.
How Much Caffeine is in a Cup of Coffee?
Do you rely on that morning cup of coffee to really wake you up and get you going? You’re not alone. But do you know how muchcaffeineis in acup of coffee? Caffeine in coffee is something you hear a lot about but don’t get much specifics. Should you even worry about it?
Caffeine and Sleep: How Does Caffeine Affect Sleep?
Every morning, you walk downstairs and head for that glistening coffee pot to make a steaming hot cup of joe. However good that first cup of morning coffee tastes, the feeling that comes from drinking coffee can be even more enticing. Caffeine is a stimulant with powerful physical and mental effects. To maintain healthy sleep, it’s important to understand how caffeine and other stimulants affect the body, and how to manage their consumption toavoid sleep problems.
How Does a Caffeine Nap Work?
A caffeine nap is a short period of sleep that occurs during the day immediately following the consumption of caffeine.1The nap should be kept to 15-20 minutes and it may be important to set an alarm to prevent oversleeping. Typically one or two servings of caffeine are enjoyed, and most studies showing a benefit have tested 150 to 200 mg of caffeine. (For reference, a cup of brewed coffee has 163 mg of caffeine.)2The source of this caffeine doesn’t matter with many options existing, including coffee, tea, soda pop,energy drinks, chocolate, caffeine pills, etc. Depending on what you consume, the amount of caffeine may vary and how much you routinely drink (or eat) may also affect your sensitivity to it.
How Does Caffeine Affect You at Work?
One big reason people drink coffee or soda at work is because it makes them feel more alert. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system so you’re not as tired as you would be if you hadn’t had your morning cup.
Unfortunately, when your caffeine kick starts to wear off, your body can crash. So, you may be trading a jolt of morning activity for a slow afternoon in which you’re much less productive. Yes, you could consume coffee or soda all afternoon to stay awake at work, but could quickly start to exceed recommended daily consumption limits…which isn’t good for your short-term or long-term health.
How long does caffeine take to kick in?
Studies have found that the effects of a cup of coffee or a glass of cola are noticeable after just 10 minutes, but the peak caffeine concentration in the blood occurs after 45 minutes. If you take the same caffeine dose in tablet form, the peak caffeine level will be the same but it takes longer – between 60 and 75 minutes – to reach that peak.
For most people, the caffeine level in your body halves roughly every six hours. So 50 per cent of the caffeine from your 4pm cuppa is still circulating in your system at bedtime.
Effects of Caffeine On Mental Health
Coffee is themost commonly consumeddrink in the United States.In 2015, Americansspent $72.4 billionon coffee. 64% of Americans over 18 said they’d had a cup of coffee within the past day ina National Coffee Association survey. As of 2010, American coffee drinkers had an average ofthree 9-ounce cupsper day. And although the US is near the top, there are a number of countries that actually consume more coffee per capita.
How Much Caffeine Can You Safely Drink During Pregnancy?
Your doctor said to stop drinking coffee, but what about other caffeinated drinks? Get the facts on what’s safe for you and your baby.
Whether your beverage of choice is coffee, an energy drink, tea, or diet cola, odds are you need a cup (or five) of something caffeinated to keep you energized throughout the day. But now that you’re eating and drinking for two, the decision to ingest stimulants such as caffeine can be a bit trickier. “Caffeine in pregnancy can be an issue if large amounts are consumed,” says Michele Hakakha, M.D., a board certified ob-gyn in Beverly Hills, California, and author ofExpecting 411. “We know from many of our studies that caffeine crosses the placenta, and a baby’s developing metabolism can’t quite handle the caffeine jolt.”