As almost everyone knows, coffee keeps you awake becauseit contains caffeine, a drug that produces a number of chemicalreactions in the brain that act to keep you awake.
Caffeine works by blocking the brain’s ability to absorb adenosine, which slows down nerve activity,causing the human body to become sleepy A caffeine molecule is chemicallysimilar to adenosine but, when it attaches itself to anerve cell, it doesn’t cause the cell to slow down but instead blocks the nerve’s adenosinereceptor, which in turn causesan increase in the nerve cell’s level of activity This increasecauses the body to think something is wrong and it goesinto “flight or fight” mode As a result, the body floods the bloodstream with adrenalin, which increases blood pressure and heart rate It also increases the rate of blood flow to themuscles and dilates the alveoli and bronchioles in the lungs,all of which keep the human body awake.
In the same way that amphetamines do, caffeine also increases the body’s levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates brain functionand induces an overall senseof well-being, making you feel more energetic.
While the effects of caffeine consumption are brief, continuousintake over longer periodscan lead to an increased level of tolerance If this happens, whena person then doesn’t have caffeine,the body can become oversensitive to adenosine, which in turn can lead to a drop in blood pressure and resultant headaches, irritability and deficiency in regenerativedeep sleep Prolonged excessive usage of caffeine can lead to addiction and intoxication.
No comments:
Post a Comment