What is your favorite drink that helps you fight fatigue? Coffee? A Coke? Maybe a mate or green tea? Whatever it is, there's a good chance it contains caffeine. It's no longer a secret that it wakes you up. But have you ever dealt with caffeine yourself and do you know why that is? We do - and clarify what makes this active ingredient so effective, how it affects your body and what it is naturally contained in.
1. What happens in your body when you take caffeine?
When you consume caffeine, it is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters the bloodstream and takes effect within 15-30 minutes. Caffeine can cross the blood-brain barrier (your protection against substances invading the brain) almost unhindered. It thus reaches your brain shortly and has a major effect on the central nervous system. Therefore, caffeine affects our entire body. It increases blood pressure and makes the heart beat faster. Thus, it increases our activity and concentration.
To understand exactly how this works, we need to look at a substance and how it works in our body. We're talking about adenosine. This is a nucleoside made up of adenine and ribose. It inhibits the release of so-called neurotransmitters, i.e. invigorating messenger substances such as dopamine. It also regulates brain activity and signals a feeling of tiredness when nerve cells are heavily used and active.
The caffeine we consume docks onto the adenosine receptors in nerve tissue because it has a similar chemical structure to adenosine. Through this interaction, adenosine can no longer dock to the receptors and we therefore experience a reduction in our feeling of tiredness. This blockage triggers a release of dopamine, our happiness hormone, which leads to easier signal transmission of nerve impulses and thus increases our activity. In addition, caffeine stimulates the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This constricts the blood vessels in the brain and thus has a soothing effect on mild headaches, as the blood vessels dilate. In addition, blood pressure rises and the heart beats faster. The result of this release is increased concentration, alertness, and an increase in drive. It is good to know that caffeine stimulates intestinal movement and thus your digestion.
2. Variants of caffeine
There are two different versions, namely bound and unbound caffeine. Free caffeine is synthetic and is quickly absorbed into our system and therefore has a fast effect. It's the caffeine you find in caffeine pills and energy drinks.
The other version is bound caffeine and herbal in nature. It often acts slower and longer than uncombined caffeine. You can find bound caffeine in green tea, matcha or mate, for example.
We would like to briefly address the green tea extract again here. This affects our body differently. Because of its powerful effects, it has been used by Buddhist monks in Asia for thousands of years. Usually it is formed by plants as a defense against insects. Green tea works more slowly and less intensely, but over a longer period of time. Green tea contains a lot of caffeine and high amounts of antioxidants and catechins, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, herbal bitter substances). Many of these bitter compounds are formed by plants as a defense against insects, microorganisms, and other plants. The caffeine it contains acts primarily on the central nervous system and thus promotes our perception, concentration and mental performance and eliminates our signs of fatigue.
3. Is Caffeine Healthy and How Much Caffeine Should I Consume?
The question of whether caffeine can have a negative effect on health depends on the dose. A cappuccino has about 90 mg of caffeine. For an adult, up to 200 mg as a single dose is not a problem. Up to 400 mg spread over the day should be harmless. This dose can prove harmful in the sick and in children, as well as in pregnant women. Therefore, consumption is not recommended here.
4. What happens if I consume too much caffeine?
Too much caffeine has some effects on our well-being. These side effects can be small discomforts, but they can also have extreme effects. Inconveniences such as stomach problems, nervousness, irritability and sweating can be indicators that the dose has been taken too high. Extreme effects such as cardiac arrhythmia, insomnia and incontinence in men can become apparent over a longer period of time. Because of such risks, caffeine should be taken in controlled amounts. With our Bright Awake AddOn, we orientated ourselves exactly to how much caffeine is healthy for an adult to start the day with increased activity, without being affected by side effects.
5. I want an energy boost without drinking coffee or other energy drinks - what can I do?
You want to test the Bright Awake? Then simply click on the link below and familiarize yourself with the two versions! In order to cater to your personal needs, we offer you the option between a version with unbound caffeine and one with bound caffeine. You can decide for yourself whether you want your energy boost to be fast-acting and intense or whether you prefer to prolong the effect and benefit from less intensity. Either way, your fatigue will decrease and your focus will sharpen.
