Some of us hardly feel human without a cup (or three) of coffee in the morning. Caffeine fuels our days and helps us connect with others. Where would the world be without cafés, coffee breaks, and the perfect espresso after dinner?
But you might not have realized that your coffee habit has a real impact on your brain. From memory performance to the risk of age-related cognitive decline, caffeine could be changing our brains in a variety of fascinating ways.
Here’s a primer on the way caffeine affects your brain.
First of all, caffeine isn’t only found in coffee.
Besides the obvious slew of energy drinks and supplements on the market, caffeine can be found in a lot of sneaky places.
Dark chocolate, ice cream, fruit sodas, some protein bars, and weight-loss pills are all unexpected sources of caffeine. Even some products like breath fresheners andpackaged sunflower seeds have added caffeine.
Think you’re safe with decaf? Shockingly, even it has caffeine.
Caffeine is actually a psychoactive drug.
In fact, it’s the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world — a study found that at least 80% of the adult population consumes it.
According to the World Health Organization, apsychoactive drug is a substance that alters brain function in a way that results in temporary changes to behavior, mood, and perception. Other psychoactive drugs include heroin, alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana.
Besides being psychoactive, studies show that caffeine is astimulant that affects your central nervous system. That coffee buzz is actually a type of drug high.
Caffeine tricks your brain into thinking it’s not tired.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, caffeine isstructurally similar to a biochemical called adenosine. This chemical, among other things, is responsible for making us sleepy.
When you have a cup of coffee, the caffeine binds with your brain’s adenosine receptors. This blocks actual adenosine from binding with those receptors and making you tired.
It’s sort of like caffeine is stealing adenosine’s parking space, which means adenosine has to circle the lot in search of another place to park. As it does, the surplus adenosine actually causes your brain to produce adrenaline, which is another stimulant. Removing the adenosine and adding the adrenaline contributes to that energized, unstoppable feeling you get after consuming caffeine.
Interestingly, the brains of heavy caffeine users actually grow additional adenosine receptors. This is why it takes more caffeine to give a coffee addict them the same jolt as a small cup might give to a non-drinker.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider