Why caffeine keeps us awake and concentrated?

That coffee and tea are the most popular drinks around the world it is something that has to do not only with its pleasant taste, but also with its ability to keep us awake, alert and focused. However, why caffeine keeps us awake and concentrated? What it is what happens in our brains when we drink tea, coffee or any other beverage containing caffeine?

Battling Adenosine

Our body uses a chemical called adenosine to regulate our daily cycle. As time passes and the day progresses, adenosine accumulates in the brain, which causes go feeling more tired. To sleep, we “liberated” its, and so day after day.

Interestingly, caffeine has a similar molecular structure to adenosine. Thus, when we drink coffee and caffeine it reaches our brain, it blocks adenosine receptors, preventing it accumulates, and thus putting off the feeling of tiredness.

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So far so great… What happens is that with prolonged intake of caffeinated beverages, our brain responds by creating more adenosine receptors. This explains that every time we need more cafes to not rest on the office in the afternoon, or if you want to leave or we skip the coffee, we feel more tired than usual, because now adenosine has more receptors in which accrue.

One of adrenaline and other dopamine, please

Block adenosine receptors is not the only thing that makes caffeine in our body as it also stimulates the secretion of adrenaline, which increases heart rate, tension and even open our airways.

Caffeine also affects dopamine levels, preventing their re-absorption in the brain, and that makes us happy, literally. However, while this increase is dopamine which makes caffeine is moderately addictive. In fact, its effects are generally similar to those of cocaine, only to a significantly lesser degree.

However, what you can drink too much caffeine?

Like everything in life, what little like and how much tired, and if you can drink too much water, there is also a lethal dose of caffeine, approximately 150 mg per kilogram of whom ingested. Given that a cup of coffee contains about 150 mg of caffeine, we should drink up our weight in coffee cups to reach that amount.

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An average person weighing 70 kg, would have to drink 70 cups of coffee for intoxication, which is technically impossible since it cannot be much fluid in our stomach. With drinks like tea or caffeinated soda would be even more complicated, but if you are curious, here you can calculate the exact amount of caffeine that you kill.

It would have to drink them all at once, since caffeine has a half – life of about three hours, which causes the concentration in the body is reduced to the last half that time, and at a quarter to six hours. That explains why we need a second coffee middle of the workday.

However, we cannot die from drinking too much coffee does not mean that drinking too much caffeine is not bad, we have seen that affects our heart and blood pressure, which is addictive and that prolonged intake makes it less effective, forcing up the dose, so moderate consumption is recommended.