Since finals are up and coming, what better time to talk about the effects of caffeine than the week before? There are some common misconceptions about the effects of caffeine on the human body, and many people often underestimate the adverse effects that truly factor into the consumption of coffee, soda and other caffeinated beverages.
To coffee and soda drinkers, the effects of caffeine are quite desirable. People claim to be more alert when doing tasks like driving or studying, but many of the effects of caffeine are different physical symptoms than what people assume them to be.
Increased heartbeat and respiration lead people to believe that they are somehow "more awake," when in reality, if a person was experiencing fatigue before that cup of coffee, he's just going to be much more tired after the effects have worn off (usually felt a couple of hours after consumption).
Rapid eye movement and the increase in stomach acid and urine production also factor into the sense that a person is more awake because the body is performing many actions at once. The smooth muscles also relax as a result, which can have adverse effects on a person.
In reality, caffeine actually decreases reaction time to visual and auditory signals, especially in activities that require much attention to small details, such as driving or doing intricate manual work. While many people think that they can study better after caffeine intake, there is actually no significant change in logic skills.
Timing and coordination can also be adversely affected due to caffeine intake as distraction can be a problem when performing tasks.
Also, there is the belief that the effects of caffeine are purely physiological, whereas in many cases a person may be psychologically dependent on the drug.
For example, the people that "need" that cup of coffee in the morning to pick them up. Many times, that person is relying on subconscious urges that exist out of habit. But it is quite common also that the person is truly addicted to caffeine.
People develop tolerance to caffeine in moderate consumption, so there must be an increase in daily dosage in order to feel that boost to which they've become accustomed.
There also exists the idea that caffeine will sober a person up after he's been drinking alcohol all night. It is true that alcohol has an opposite effect on the central nervous system than caffeine does.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant while caffeine is a stimulant. But the effects of caffeine will be evident in the inebriated person's seeming increase in alertness, but in no way will the person have sobered up, as his motor skills and coordination will not have returned.
It's actually even more dangerous to give someone caffeine after he's been drinking as he will probably think he perform activities such as operating a vehicle based on his alertness.
The degree of alcohol impairment is dependent upon the individual's blood alcohol level, and this is not affected by caffeine.
One of the most common misconceptions surrounding caffeine is that it does not have any serious effects on the body, when in fact there are some very specific health hazards related to regular caffeine intake.
The long term effects of caffeine are related to heart disease, ulcers, and breast disease. Heavy coffee drinkers (defined as those who drink more than five cups of coffee per day) have been found by Johns Hopkins Medical Institute to be two to three times more likely to have coronary heart disease than non-drinkers (NEJM, October 16, 1986).
This study did not take into account whether or not these coffee drinkers were under a high level of stress or their diets. Also, men who drink a lot of coffee also have been seen to have a higher calorie intake from fat as well as higher cholesterol.
Heartburn is another condition caused by coffee intake, not so much due to the caffeine, but other ingredients that cause the stomach contents to back up into the esophagus and cause the sensation known as heartburn.
For people with ulcers, caffeine intake increases the secretion of acid and pepsin in the stomach, which can only make an ulcer worse. Specifically coffee, whether decaffeinated or not, stimulates this secretion and intensifies an ulcer.
It has also been seen that higher coffee consumption can lead to lower urinary tract cancer, renal cancer and pancreatic cancer.
A direct association between benign fibrocystic breast disease and caffeine consumption has not yet been found, but it was thought to be a concern in the 80's that women who drink caffeine regularly were more likely to find a decrease in palpable lumps in their breasts when that caffeine consumption was decreased. Whether caffeine is a factor of this disease or not is yet to be determined.
So, all of the negative effects of caffeine make you wonder whether that "nectar of the gods," as I like to call it, is so good for you after all. It gives you a boost on your day, makes you feel more alert, and can surely seem to alleviate stress, but all the evidence points to the fact that those are just psychological effects and everything we've thought to be true about caffeine is just myth.
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