I have had a love/hate relationship with caffeine for the better part of the last seven years—a short time frame, no doubt, compared to the more devoted coffee drinkers among us. But in that time I’ve learned quite a bit about the compound known as 1,3,7 trimethylxanthine—and it’s not all pretty.
In the grand continuum of drugs, caffeine is seen as mild, and with good reason. Compared to the effects of drugs such as cocaine and heroin, caffeine affects the brain in much less severe ways. Which is why it might come as a surprise that caffeine is not just an addictive drug, it’s also a model drug of dependence
Few of us may think of the contents of our coffee mugs as being equal to a pill or a powder, but in essence that’s what us caffeine addicts are consuming every day. Whether you get your caffeine via coffee, energy drinks, tea, or soda, it retains the same effects. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what caffeine does to our bodies and the consequences of caffeine dependence.
This Is Your Body On Caffeine
Caffeine is produced by more than 75 plants, which utilize it as a pesticide. Humans have demonstrated a very low, tolerable upper intake level—in other words, we aren’t adapted to high levels of caffeine consumption
Caffeine is a member of both the alkaloid family (along with morphine, nicotine, codeine, etc.) and the xanthine family, from which most stimulants are derived
Caffeine also tightens muscles, dilates pupils, opens airways, increases pulse rate, and constricts blood vessels. This last effect is the reason why caffeine is sometimes included in pain relief medication, because less bloodflow to the affected area equals less perceived pain
Caffeine, Health Risks, and Addiction
Now officially classified as a disorder, caffeine dependence is real and ugly. Anyone who has missed their morning cup of coffee surely knows this. Whether you drink caffeine in large amounts or small, its consumption has been correlated to age-related diseases such as osteoporosis and premature aging syndromes, due largely to its ability to shorten telomeres (the ends of human chromosomes). Cellular aging also means early wrinkles; caffeine can also lead to gray hair and speed up hair loss (Perhaps paradoxically, one study suggests that caffeine consumption may help people live longer, while another found that caffeine boosts people’s memories.).
Caffeine has particularly negative effects when it comes to getting high-quality zzzs. Many of us have heard that it’s not good to drink caffeine in the afternoon, because doing so may negatively affect sleep that evening. This results from the fact that caffeine’s half-life (or the amount of time it takes for half of the substance to be metabolized by the body) is roughly six hours. This means that at 10 p.m., some of that 2 p.m. coffee is still floating around in the bloodstream. And that means that caffeine may prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep, resulting in sleepiness the next day
Caffeine withdrawal, as anyone who has gone through it can tell you, is not a fun experience
The Takeaway
So what’s the healthiest way to consume caffeine? If you can’t give it up entirely, one study suggests that consuming it in small amounts (roughly 100mg to 200mg, or approximately 1 to 2 cups of coffee) immediately prior to exercise might be beneficial for growth hormone production
That said, if you’re drinking more than two cups per day, it’s probably a wise idea to gradually decrease your consumption. Cut back over a period of a few weeks in order to avoid the nasty withdrawal symptoms described above. If you stay within the lower end of the spectrum of caffeine intake, you will help yourself to minimize most of the deleterious effects of addiction
Biochemically, caffeine is an addictive compound with several potential negative effects, though many of them can be mitigated by consuming caffeine only in moderation and from healthier sources such as coffee or tea. The trouble arises when large amounts of caffeine are used to cope with chronic sleep deprivation—and unfortunately, it seems both habits have become as American as apple pie. We are a country low on energy, low on sleep, and, as a result, high on caffeine.
Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet®, and PaleoHacks. He also runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean® while pursuing his Ph.D in nutritional biochemistry.The views expressed herein are his. To learn more about Casey, check out his website or follow him on Twitter.