How Does Caffeine Wake You Up?
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- Опубліковано 13 січ 2016
- When you get coffee jitters, caffeine has tricked your brain into anticipating danger. Lauren explains how it works.
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According to research from Johns Hopkins University, up to 90% of people in the United States habitually consume caffeine at doses that make it by far America’s most popular drug. A
nd we’re not even the world leaders in coffee consumption per capita: I’m looking at you, Finland and The Netherlands.
Caffeine is a natural compound found in plants like cacao, coffee, and tea, and researchers think that its perky properties have made it part of humanity’s diet since before the dawn of recorded history. So let’s take a look at why it’s so popular - by delving into the chemistry of the human body.
Every cell in your body breaks down a biochemical called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, to get the energy it needs to do stuff.
Y’know, contract your muscles, transmit electrochemical signals in your brain, build new cells - that kind of thing.
So when your cells do any kind of work, from helping you fight a bear to helping you read (and understand) a probably-harmless book that you found in the basement of a creepy cabin in the woods, those cells wind up excreting a few byproducts from the breakdown of ATP.
One of them is a compound called adenosine. In the brain, adenosine is known to cause drowsiness. When it binds to specialized neural receptors that it fits into like a chemical key into a lock, adenosine slows down (aka inhibits) the activity of particular neurons.
Those neurons happen to be in parts of the basal forebrain that control whether you’re awake or asleep. Adenosine makes those neurons fire less often, and less activity equals drowsy.
Caffeine just happens to fit into the same receptors in the brain as adenosine -- sort of like a lock pick. So part of what’s happening when you drink coffee (or cola or whatever) is that less adenosine can reach those receptors.
Furthermore, where adenosine slows down neural activity, caffeine speeds it up. Those neurons start firing more than usual.
This extra activity leads to caffeine’s physical effects because our brains are dumb. One job that our hypothalamus has is to monitor for extra neural activity because that’s a sign of stress, or heightened arousal, or danger.
Basically, your hypothalamus can’t tell the difference between an espresso and an attacking kaiju, so its response is the same either way. It signals your pituitary gland and your sympathetic nervous system that there’s an emergency, and that they’d better get the adrenal medulla to release some epinephrine, aka adrenaline.
Adrenaline, of course, being the “fight-or-flight” hormone that puts your body on red alert. It makes your pupils dilate. Your airway opens up. Your heart beats faster and your blood pressure rises. Skin-surface blood vessels constrict to slow blood flow from potential cuts and increase flow to muscles. Your liver releases sugar into your bloodstream for extra energy. And your muscles tighten up, ready for action.
In other words, you’re real awake.
The half-life of caffeine in your body is about six hours. Meaning that if you drink a cup of coffee containing about 200 milligrams of caffeine at 3:00pm, you’ll still be left with about 100 milligrams by 9:00pm, and about 50 by 3:00am.
Your brain may still be having trouble binding enough adenosine to really slow down. Thus keeping you awake - or at least, preventing deep, restful sleep.
That’s one reason why experts recommend moderation when it comes to caffeine intake: Less than 300 milligrams per day, which equals about two cups of coffee.
SOURCES:
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www.erowid.org/chemicals/caff...
learn.genetics.utah.edu/conten...
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www.wiley.com/college/psyc/wes... - Наука та технологія
There was a time when I drank coffee in massive quantities. I also drank tea.
At some point I stopped drinking coffee as part of giving up tobacco - I just stopped doing the things I associated with tobacco consumption. Made the process easier, I think. I haven't started smoking again and it's been 40 years.
And I still drank tea... LOTS of tea. gave that up for a while and went to herbal substitutes (ugh!) and eventually returned to the tea habit.
Not like it keeps me awake....
In fact, this is an issue. I have a 47 year case of HepC. It came with Hepatomegaly (enlarged liver) which has been quietly filling up all the space it can make in my abdominal cavity.
It's a fatiguing process, constantly fighting a virus and regenerating a liver... I REALLY wanted to stay awake this winter. Get's cold and dark up here north of the 45th parallel between October and March.
So I tried Cold Brew coffee with butter. It set well with my stomach. Small amounts seemed to make me drowsy but a full cup's worth would keep me focused. But not really awake.
Within a month or so my liver started to ache up under the ribs...
NOT because the coffee was damaging it. Coffee is supposed to protect the liver. I found out how. It encourages regeneration. My liver was trying to grow into an enclosed space which (unlike my belly) will not stretch to fit.
Needless to say I stopped drinking coffee. The pain receded.
I am groggy and unfocused again.
Damn!
It was really GOOD as a cold brew with butter, vanilla and dates blended into it.
I don't know about you guys but caffeine never kept me from sleeping, anyway good video Lauren!
Finallyyyyy I stumble upon an interesting and educational channel. Earned my subscription!
why doesnt caffine effect me? it doesnt make me tired or awake
You are awesome Lauren !
This is brilliant thank you for explaining life's greatest mysteries!
Toda. I really enjoyed it very informative and presented it in a way that even I can understand
That was more interesting that I thought it would be. Thanks for sharing.
I just injected 3 caffeines.
Three caffeines is a pretty small amount
I dissolved six caffeine capsules in my stinky bottom and one in my gooey belly button.
@@meatball5336 5 years later...moved on to injecting 10 caffeines up my nether region
@@thatoneguysteve85 Hell to the yeah. You know how to party. 🥳 🎉
wow that was so informing! thank you for the good video.
Yet again Lauren has changed my life
my body must be messes up, because when I drink coffee I get tired....I use it to go to bed sometimes
Hey all, Lauren here! Lots of you have questions about caffeine tolerance and immunity. I've never looked into it, but I'd love to do the research. Sounds like a followup video is in order. ^___^
+BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks Might get up until some reverse effects?
There was a time when I drank a rather big amount of cola daily (about 2,5L to 3L a day).
When I got into a rather stressful situation, like a fast game of Go against a Dan player that I even managed to win, I felt really shaky after it. Basically I asked for a Cola to calm down. Friends were first reluctant to give me the cola, cause they taught it would rather add insult to injury so to speak, yet when they did it work.
I can up to this day use Cola as something that helps me sleep too,..
Should we drink cold or hot coffee??
lol. an attacking Kaiju . I love it! and i love your channel! Thanks Lauren for all the work you folks at Brainstuff do to keep us smart! ^_^
+MauiSponge Aww! Thanks so much for watching & commenting! This made our day. /Lauren
Love the haircut Lauren!
+Qermaq Thanks! Now I've just gotta dye silly colors into it again. ^___^ /Lauren
Two cups a day?? The first thing I do in the morning is drinks two mugs of the good stuffand from there it continues.. But then again, I'm from the Netherlands.
I began drinking coffee with my grandmother as a child -growng up south of Amarillo cold winters. As an adult-and between ages 25- now at 65-I ranged from 5 pots of coffee a day -now I drink nearly 2 pots a day-but it's not strong, I drink it black, and like some others here, seems to help me. I drink it from 1st thing I do, to about 8:30 pm every day still....
My father and I cook at a church, and we will regularly drink the iced tea during the big dinners to stay hydrated. We would go home about 9pm but wouldn't be able to go to sleep till about 1am due to the caffeine in the tea. After a couple years of that, we decided to switched the tea to decaf tea.
And none of the congregation knew the difference.
Cool Video !
+1 for referencing Kaiju !
i love you guys
I used to drink 3 coffee in a row in the morning. Then my feet swelled up one day and I was worried. After some research, I cut down to one coffee in the morning and one before supper time. My swollen feet went away the second day I tried this new routine!
I consume the case of beer 🍺 7 years ago I woke up and had seven cups of coffee black coffee ☕ not decaffeinated regular black Maxwell House coffee ☕ and I had a massive panic attack to the ER and anxiety 7 and a half years later I have never been the same
is it possible for someone to be immune to the effect of caffeine?? i tried to drink a cup of coffee every morning for 2 weeks and i didn't notice a difference my energy when i go to work. drinking coffee is not a thing i do a lot ( sometimes i drink 1 cup every 2 months) but the only reason i tried to is because people keep saying it makes you feel better and more energetic in the morning.
Hello Brain Stuff,
How does Focalin XR work and affects the human brain? I have a problem staying awake and focused during the day; so therefore my doctor increased my dosage to 35 mg and it still does not help. I can even take 200 mg of caffeine and still get super drowsy and week and wind up falling a sleep. If none of these stimulants are not working, what may be going on in my brain? When I get like this, I lose all cognitive thinking, memory, coordination, focus, and awareness.
I used to drink LOTS of coffe some years ago, but I started drinking enormous amount until I´ve reached the point where I started feeling really "high'' on caffeine, which was a total waste of time because there´s nothing better than a relaxed mind and a good night of sleep is crucial for our health, which caffeine affects imensely by messing with our chemicals and leaving us like "energy zombies" where we need to keep drinking to stay alert, so that´s why I only drink caffeine once in a while through cold beverages (which gives a much sweeter "high" and don´t last for much longer compared to hot drinks like coffee or tea).
How does caffeine tolerance work?
After years of caffeine use the most people literally wouldn't believe, my caffeine tolerance is so high that I can straight chug a 2 liter of Mountain Dew and go to sleep no problem.
This video reminded me of two past caffeine stories:
#1: Drinking about 9 liters of Mountain Dew a day for a few months
#2: Washing down Viveran ( 100mg caffeine pills ) with Mega Jolt ( which is Jolt Cola with 50% more caffeine )
I don't recommend ANY of the above! That was almost 20 years ago and I'm still slowly discovering and dealing with the long term health effects.
Ironically... I never drank coffee. I can't stand the smell or taste of it! It's straight disgusting! X-P
i have 3-4 each day of the weekend, i feel fine. no heart attacks, i still feel just as sleepy.
Should we drink cold or hot coffee for preventing sleep?
Coffee can during the right circumstances make you sleepy. I have twice tried to drink coffee before having gone to sleep after recommendation from a friend whose mother drinks it before sleeping. I have found it working very well. I am in fact drinking some right now and I'm feeling drowsy at 02:30 AM. My third attempt.
I consume a great deal of diet cola. I've likely developed a tolerance to the caffeine as I have no trouble falling asleep most nights (I have bouts of insomnia that while not the result of caffeine, probably aren't helped by it) and don't experience the "jitters" some experience.
I have a question; I can drink 4 cups of coffee in one go and but still not feel any different. I don't even like the taste of coffee and only drink it when I really need to e.g. pull all nighters, but I still never get to cut my drowsiness. Why is that
Lauren is so pleasant.
I see ty
that last comment about vibrating through space time made me giggle
what if coffee makes me sleepy? what if I take a preworkout of 400mg of caffeine around 7pm but I still am able to sleep at 10 pm
Nice Evil Dead reference
+zedirich7 Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. /Lauren
:)
I've never noticed any real effects from caffeine. I can chug several of those big energy drink cans packed with the stuff and not feel any different. Does caffiene always cause a flight/fight response or is it possible some people just aren't susceptible?
+Geminosity How long have you been drinking it? You develop a tolerance to drugs if you consume them often.
Depends on how long you've been using it. I've been drinking coffee for several years and barely feel anything except a little happy :)
I don't really imbibe caffiene often and can often go for weeks or months without consuming any. I've never noticably felt anything off of it, not even after long gaps :o
+Geminosity It definitely varies -- probably based on a person's individual body chemistry. I'd love to look into it -- maybe I'll do a followup video? /Lauren
Ooh that'd be interesting :D I always thought it was odd that it had all these effects for most people but it just seemed to do little for me. I remember one or two folk in uni who also didn't think it did much for them either, while there were obviously a lot more people who it woke up or was a vital part of keeping them functioning throughout the course :P
Im watching this and all the good stuff that caffeine give it for me in Cellucor C4 Pre-Workout
Caffeine has medicinal properties. Did you know that caffeine will stop an asthma attack. When you feel the attack coming on drink one cup of coffee or take one no doz tablet and you will stop wheezing and your breathing will return to normal. In fact there is an expensive synthetic medicine that has a molecule similar to caffeine that is sold to asthma sufferers. And its a lot more expensive that a cup of coffee or a no doz tablet.
I could drink up the five cups of coffee if I wanted to but I get very paranoid
I drink tea mostly. I was a massive coffee drinker for years, 3 or 4 17oz cups a day, sometimes more. There were days I thought I could see sound... now I drink 2 to 3 10oz cups of black tea a day. sometimes boosting that with a cup of coffee or another tea. I find I sleep.better, and am far less jumpy
+Chris Irwin Yeah, I'm trying to switch to tea. I love the taste of coffee so much, but even a single cup can make me feel like I'm in a David Lynch dream sequence if I haven't eaten enough >___< /Lauren
+BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks If you're drinking coffee on an empty stomach, try chewing that gum you like...it's coming back in style anyway. Two owls, one stone...though they're not what they seem.
BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks
There are flavoured black teas now. Ahmed Brand, I get mine from Amazon. Right now I am drinking Apricot flavoured black tea... its awesome:) Best to steep for 5 mins
My question is - why is it that the more coffee you drink, the less effective it is?
is it possible to be immune to caffeine?
i've never noticed any effects from it, even after like 12 energy drinks
+craig terris as an example of how little effect it has, i once snorted ~half a gram of caffeine powder and felt nothing
lmao @ vibrate thru space time hahahaha.
I have 3 large(or mugs as I'm british) coffees in the first hour of waking. that's accompanied by (regular/honest) true intake of 6-7 cigarettes within the first hour of any day , (week or weekend) and proceed to continue for around 9 or 10 hours after taking at least one cigaretteand one coffee every hour until 5/6 PM when I eat my dinner with some beers.... but as your video explains!, the Dutch (of witch my family originates) drink coffee like the rest of the planet breaths AIR!. (that's honest research for you). Ha ha ha 😂
Wow, I thought There are a lot of negative comments. Im surprised I haven't find any!
I chug a java monster every morning and they have 189mg caffine. the highest mg i could find. it lasts till about 3pm. just a little fyi.. she made an evil dead reference and a Pacific Rim reference. I like her. lol.
with all that said. can you explain to me WHY coffee does NOT keep me awake? tell me, please. ....
I can drink a pot and go right to bed. haha.
What i've never figured out is how caffeine can make some people get jitters and shakes, but other people like me. it mellows me out and callms me down.
+Sarin Highwind I know that some people have that reaction to certain stimulants, like Adderall, at different doses. I'm not sure what the mechanism is, though -- I'll have to look into it and do a followup!
For me with caffeine, a cup of coffee makes me happy and focused. I don't get the jitters until I'm at least a couple cups in. /Lauren
+Sarin Highwind There is anecdotal evidence for caffeine helping to calm people with ADHD and having similar effects to the prescription stimulants like Adderall commonly used to treat it. Coffee does contain more than just caffeine though and never underestimate the placebo effect.
+BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks can you do a video on Adderall pls
0:58 - Is this an H.P. Lovecraft reference? I seem to remember one of his stories involving something like that.
+M. Strain Jr. Nah, it's an Evil Dead reference.
Mikelpsu11
You know, that's one of those movies I haven't seen. But I do know Lovecraft had a story like that. The man finds a cabin in the woods, enters into a creepy house and finds an evil book, reads the book, and is struck by lightning or something. Yeah the plot is stupid, but it's the atmosphere that really makes the story.
So how come I can drink a truck full of coffee and never feel a thing from it? I seem to be totally immune.
why did I always think the half life was two hours, huh. must have been thinking of something else
Coffee doesn't even make me stay awake
I'm having decaf coffee right now.
two cups a day... those scientists don´t know how engineers opporate
Oh shucks !! the secret of your vibe is kaffee !!
+Stephen Mortimer I'm made mostly of caffeine, carbs, and anxiety. ^__^ /Lauren
+BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks youre too cute to be anxious. so stahp it.
readyrepairs
Nah !! cute is too "blah-say" a term (timorous too)
It's her anxious vibes of FIGHT or flight that are soooo exotic !!
Reminds me of the song "Blame it on the Expresso"
Something tells me you folks at How Stuff Works go through beaucoup amounts of coffee/caffeine
+elmooko69 Oh yeah. The video department in particular are caffeine junkies. Once upon a time, we were talking to folks from an energy drink company about maybe collaborating on some stuff. They sent a couple flats of their product over for us a week before their first visit -- maybe 36 cans. When they arrived for our meeting, they were joking around with us: 'We would've brought more, but obviously you can't have drank all of that already!' When we sheepishly told them that we had, they were all like 0______________0. Apparently we hold some kind of unofficial record!
why the fuck doesnt this channel have more subs...
+readyrepairs
Because people don't like education and most of them are Lazy... and rather follow Kardashians with no use to life...
+DragoLosAngeles Hahaha true true, hats off to you sir.
+DragoLosAngeles Good one, I think you might have a point man!
Don't do drugs people.
Two cups a day?!? Crappo... anyone has the Coffee Anonymous numbers?
theobromine!
+BariumCobaltNitrog3n I totally want to do a video about why chocolate is the best drug. /Lauren
BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks
Yes! That would be good.
welcome to the below 301 club.
yea 4 locals never again !!!!! lol
My mom thinks I have an audition to sugar how do I stop that audition
Hahahahahahaha. :D 2 cups.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
our brains are dumb :D
Thanks for ruining coffee! - I hate nature, more than ever! ^-^
I'm going to throw some plast- damn they eat those things too! -_-' You won this, nature!
2:04? Our brains are dumb? Those who don't see the magnificence of it is dumb. So tell me...what do you consider smart? I will challenge that thought to the best of my ability....goodluck.
First
+Robn Ragheed good for you
is she German ......because her last name
+Kristina Easiley The Vogelbaum side of my family is Polish, but the name is definitely German. /Lauren
+BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks ahh OK by the way cool video