What is your favorite drink that helps you fight fatigue? Coffee? A cola? Maybe a mate or green tea? Whatever it is, it most likely contains caffeine. That it keeps you awake has long been no secret. But have you ever really looked into caffeine yourself and know why that is? We have – and we explain what makes this active ingredient so effective, how it affects your body, and where it naturally occurs.
1. What happens in your body when you consume caffeine?
When you consume caffeine, it is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters the bloodstream, and takes effect within 15-30 minutes. Caffeine can pass through the blood-brain barrier (your protection against intrusive substances entering the brain) almost unhindered. It thus quickly reaches your brain and primarily affects the central nervous system. Therefore, caffeine impacts your entire body. It raises blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster. This increases our activity and concentration.
To understand exactly how this works, we need to look at one substance and its process in our body. This is adenosine. It is a nucleoside made up of adenine and ribose. It inhibits the release of so-called neurotransmitters, i.e., stimulating messenger substances like dopamine. It also regulates brain activity and signals a feeling of tiredness when nerve cells are heavily used and active.
The caffeine we consume binds to the adenosine receptors in the nervous tissue because it has a similar chemical structure to adenosine. Through this interaction, adenosine can no longer bind to the receptors, and we therefore experience a reduction in our feeling of tiredness. This blockage triggers the release of dopamine, our happiness hormone, which facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses and thus increases our activity. Additionally, caffeine stimulates the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This narrows the blood vessels in the brain and thus relieves mild headaches, as these headaches are caused by dilated blood vessels. Blood pressure rises, and the heart beats faster. The result of this release is increased concentration, alertness, and motivation. It is also good to know that caffeine stimulates bowel movement and thus your digestion.
2. Variants of caffeine
There are two different versions: bound and unbound caffeine. Unbound caffeine is synthetic and is quickly absorbed into our system, producing a rapid effect. This is the caffeine you find in caffeine tablets and energy drinks.
The other version is bound caffeine and is of plant origin. It often acts more slowly and lasts longer than unbound caffeine. You find bound caffeine, for example, in green tea, matcha, or mate.
We want to briefly focus specifically on green tea extract here. It affects our body differently. Because of its strong effect, it has been used for several thousand years in Asia by Buddhist monks. Normally, it is formed by plants as a defense against insects. Green tea acts more slowly and less intensely but over a longer period. Green tea contains a lot of caffeine and high amounts of antioxidants and catechins, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, plant bitter substances). Many of these bitter substances are produced by plants as a defense against insects, microorganisms, and other plants. The caffeine contained mainly affects the central nervous system and thus promotes our perception, concentration, mental performance, and reduces our feelings of fatigue.
3. Is caffeine healthy and how much caffeine should I consume?
Whether caffeine can negatively affect health depends on the dose. A cappuccino contains about 90 mg of caffeine. For an adult, up to 200 mg as a single dose is no problem. Spread over the day, up to 400 mg should be safe. This dose can be harmful for the sick, children, and pregnant women. Therefore, consumption is not recommended for these groups.
4. What happens if I consume too much caffeine?
Too much caffeine has several effects on our well-being. These side effects can be minor complaints but also have extreme consequences. Indicators that too high a dose has been taken can be discomforts such as stomach problems, nervousness, irritability, and sweating. Over a longer period, extreme effects such as heart rhythm disturbances, insomnia, and incontinence in men can occur. Because of such risks, caffeine should be consumed in controlled amounts. We have based our Bright Awake exactly on how much caffeine is healthy for an adult to start the day with increased activity without being affected by side effects.
