What exactly does caffeine do to our brains?

When it comes to coffee's effects on your brain, some things are exactly what you think they are, but a lot of things aren't.

Author: Ding Xin

Source: Neurology Channel of Medical World, authorized

Caffeine is good for your health

Taking caffeine with other medications can increase their effectiveness:

(1) Caffeine can increase the effectiveness of headache-relieving drugs by 40% and enable the body to absorb these drugs faster, shortening the duration of action. Therefore, many over-the-counter headache medications contain caffeine.

(2) Caffeine and ergotamine can be used together to treat migraines and cluster headaches, and can also overcome the drowsiness caused by antihistamines.

(3) The combination of caffeine and bromide can regulate the excitatory and inhibitory processes of the cerebral cortex and restore them to stability, which is effective for neurosis (formerly known as neurosis).

Caffeine also has unique effects on patients with cognitive impairment:

Studies have found that consuming 100 mg of caffeine daily can improve cognitive ability, memory and attention, which can not only alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, but also play a positive role in preventing Alzheimer's disease.

In addition, caffeine can be used to treat central respiratory and circulatory insufficiency, which can keep patients awake. It can also be used as a comprehensive treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and inattention, and to prevent and treat apnea or paroxysmal dyspnea in immature newborns.

Caffeine is harmful to your health

1. Nervous system: Caffeine can cause restlessness, insomnia, and tremors. Large doses can produce symptoms similar to anxiety neurosis, such as irritability, insomnia, palpitations, hot flashes, and headaches. Discontinuation reactions: People who habitually use this drug and suddenly stop using it may experience symptoms such as irritability, agitation, and headaches. Long-term and large-scale use can produce tolerance and may also be addictive.

2. Cardiovascular system: Caffeine can shorten the effective refractory period of the atrioventricular node, thereby causing various rapid arrhythmias and premature contractions, and may increase the incidence of myocardial infarction.

3. Digestive system: Excessive caffeine can cause nausea and vomiting. Caffeine is a strong stimulant for gastric acid secretion and can aggravate duodenal ulcers. Infants are prone to gastroesophageal reflux when treated with caffeine.

Caffeine Addiction

People who are addicted to coffee will experience "caffeine withdrawal syndrome" if they suddenly stop drinking or suddenly reduce the amount of coffee they drink. The most common symptoms are headache and fatigue. Other symptoms include drowsiness, decreased attention, inability to concentrate, difficulty working, depression, anxiety, irritability, nausea and vomiting, irritability, increased muscle tension, etc.

Caffeine withdrawal usually occurs 12 to 24 hours after stopping caffeine use, and can occur as quickly as 6 hours later. Symptoms can last for 2 to 9 days. The more caffeine a person uses, the more severe the withdrawal symptoms will be.

Caffeine Tips

1. The positive behavioral effects caused by consuming 50-300 mg of caffeine are most significant - this means that when we consume about 300 mg of caffeine a day, we are in a very high state.

2. The half-life of caffeine in plasma is usually 3 to 7 hours. For those who love coffee, don’t drink it 7 hours before going to bed.

3. Caffeine is mainly found in the fruits and leaves of coffee trees, tea trees, yerba mate (mate tea) and guarana, while small amounts of caffeine are also found in cocoa trees, kola nuts and yerba mate trees - tea, coffee, cocoa and cola all contain different amounts of caffeine.

4. How much caffeine is reasonable to consume per day? - Health Canada recommends that children under 13 years old should not consume more than 2.5 mg/kg per day, and adults should not consume more than 400 mg per day.

Nine types of people should not drink coffee

1. Hypertension: Coffee contains caffeine, which can increase the blood pressure of some sensitive people.

2. Renal failure: If you have hyperkalemia, you need to follow a potassium-restricted diet. Coffee is high in potassium.

3. Peptic ulcer: Caffeine stimulates the secretion of gastric acid, relaxes the smooth muscle blood vessels of the digestive system, accelerates the metabolism of food, and reduces the nutritional value of food.

4. Diabetes: Caffeine can reduce the secretion of insulin in the pancreas, reduce glucose tolerance, increase insulin excretion and cause blood sugar to rise.

5. Epilepsy: Caffeine can stimulate the brain's power center, and xanthocyanin can cause blood vessels to constrict and reduce blood flow to the brain, which is very harmful to patients with epilepsy.

6. Heart disease: Coffee increases the content of fat and triglycerides, increases the burden on the heart and oxygen consumption, especially when the body is tired or smoking excessively.

7. Iron deficiency anemia: Coffee will accelerate the metabolism of food and reduce the absorption rate of iron.

8. Kidney stones: To prevent the recurrence of calcium oxalate stones, you must avoid foods rich in oxalic acid, and coffee is an oxalic acid-rich food.

9. Insomnia: Long-term drinking of coffee will affect the sedative effect, increase the number of wakefulness, and make the sleep depth shallower.

In addition to patients with the above diseases who cannot drink coffee, healthy people are not necessarily suitable for drinking coffee. For example, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, athletes, etc. may experience adverse feelings or pathological phenomena after drinking coffee.

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