Matter and Bonding: Your Brain on Coffee

Article: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-coffee-affect-your-brain-2014-8

Follow-up articles (for statistics used in the first paragraph):

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271707.php

http://www.e-importz.com/coffee-statistics.php

Coffee statistics show that among coffee drinkers, the average consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day. Over 50% of Americans over 18 drink coffee every day. From an international perspective - the International Coffee Organization, to be precise - approximately 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day.

From the data, it's fair to say that coffee plays a large role in our modern society. However, while people know the immediate effects of its use, less commonplace is the knowledge regarding its longer-lasting effects. The Business Insider article linked to above offers up a brief rundown of what's actually happening in your brain when you drink it.

The natural 'tired' feeling comes from a particular molecule, called adenosine, which is produced throughout the day. The more that builds up, the more tired you feel. And the more you sleep, the lower the concentration becomes. Fairly simple so far. Then, when you ingest the coffee, because it actually has a similar chemical makeup to the adenosine it can bind to the very same receptors your natural adenosine would otherwise bind (to that allow you to feel its groggy effects). Because those spots where the adenosine would bind are taken already, they cannot, and you don't feel tired. A sort of brain hijack.

There's a little problem with that though. As a response to this lack of available receptors, your brain creates more over time. Thus, more caffeine is required to have the same effect as before. This is also the reason why people will sometimes have withdrawal-like stages when they don't get their coffee - because more receptors without caffeine means more adenosine. (It's probably really complex but this is fairly brief.)

It doesn't stop there, caffeine also stimulates production of adrenaline, which results in an increased heart rate, opening of airways, and such. It then affects dopamine levels by preventing its reabsorption in the brain, giving you a happy feeling. This effect is the same as cocaine, just to a lesser degree. This dopamine stimulation is also what makes coffee moderately addictive.

Personally, I don't drink coffee, mostly because I don't like the smell/taste yet. I found this article especially interesting because it delved into an area of many people's lives that they experience daily (if not more than just once) that was likely never fully understood.

At the mention of its addictive similarities to cocaine however, I couldn't help but think about the current debates regarding recreational drugs such as marujuana, as well as the less recreational kind. Caffeine is technically a drug too. A socially acceptable psychoactive drug.

Where should the government draw the line - if at all - in creating laws that limit people's personal use of drugs? (Also do you think this knowledge will affect your coffee-drinking habits in any way?)

#chemistry #coffee #chemicalreactions