This is Your Life on Caffeine
Caffeine is a drug that an overwhelming majority of Americans are going about their daily lives under the effect of right now. It alters the brain’s natural state, and stimulates it in a manner similar to cocaine or heroin. Its effects are much milder, of course, but it’s the same mechanism.
-It is absorbed quickly into the lining of the stomach and small intestine.
-It blocks adenosine receptors in your brain. Adenosine causes drowsiness, so cells that would normaly be regulated to slow down by way of adenosine actually speed up now.
-Your Pituitary gland sees the cells not slowing down and assumes there is some sort of emergency happening, and it releases hormones into your bloodstream telling your adrenal glands to start pumping.
-Your pupils dilate.
-Your blood pressure rises.
-Your liver releases sugar into the blood stream for extra energy.
-Your hands may get cold.
-Your smooth muscles relax. (Bronchial muscle is smooth muscle. Which is why asthma sufferers are sometimes given caffeine.)
-It takes about 45-60 minutes for it to reach peak levels in your bloodstream.
-Your dopamine re-uptake is inhibited (this is how it’s like cocaine or heroin), and the pleasure centers of your brain are abnormally stimulated.
-Your reaction time to visual and auditory stimuli slows.
-The half-life of caffeine in your system varies depending on the state your body is in.
- Smoker: 3 Hours
- Average Human: 5-7 Hours
- Pregnant Woman:18-20 Hours
- Newborn Baby: 30 Hours
-Caffeine withdrawal symptoms include headaches that do not respond to pain killers, lethargy, confusion or inability to focus and irritability.
-75% of Americans Drink coffee regularly.
-90% of Americans daily consume caffeine in some significant (100+ mg) form.
-More than half of those consume more than 300mg daily.
-Mild caffeine overdose (750+ mg or about 7 cups of coffee) of caffeine can lead to dizziness, visual hallucinations (flashes), delirium, diarrhea and fainting.
-In order to fatally overdose on caffeine you would have to drink about 40 cups of coffee. Your body would physically reject this much fluid, but this amount of caffeine injected intravenously would certainly do the job.
Technorati Tags: caffeine, coffee, soda, pop, effects, body, mind
20 opinions for This is Your Life on Caffeine
mildweed
Oct 30, 2006 at 12:49 pm
I have no *twitch* idea what you’re *twitch* getting at.
Honestly though, I’ve been addicted since high school. The longest I’ve gone without it since then was just a few days, certainly less than a week.
My recent endeavor to review/sample all the coffee shops in Kansas City doesn’t do much to help stem this addiction….
xoc
Dec 9, 2006 at 7:13 pm
In your first paragraph you make a couple of howlers.
1. Cocaine is not an amphetamine.
2. Heroin is not an amphetamine. It is not even a stimulant.
If you get such basic facts wrong, how can the reader trust that the rest of your advice is reliable? Its a shame, because it is an important topic that people should be more informed about.
Wade
Dec 9, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Yikes! Thanks for the tip; corrected.
mattblack04
Jan 21, 2007 at 5:12 am
very odd, considering I have never had any of these symptoms and I drink caffeine on a regular basis. Soda mostly. I never get twitchy, drowsy for no reason, headaches, or any of those things.
It never makes me feel good or make me uncommonly happy, and my BP is just fine.
So, what you mean to say is that you will get these if you consume a large dose of caffeine, say about 8+ cups of coffee? If this was so blatant in people, I would think it would be common knowledge, rather than having to be broken down and stated.
Adamae315
Jan 23, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I suppose everyone may react differently, depending on the levels of caffiene taken in. I know I have to plan at all times to make sure that I have Diet Coke available to me, for the caffiene. If I go 8+ hours without it, I will get a headache - just like clockwork, that will destroy my day. Instead of solving the problem by weaning myself off of the stuff…I just make sure I always have it. XD Sad. I know.
dal0579
Feb 5, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Your right, everyone does react differently physically to any kind of drugs and/or alcohol. Some get to withstand the harsh effects of the poison and others suffer incredibly. My wife’s Great grandmother lived to over 90 years old and died of natural causes. She drank coke and ate cookies everyday for 40 years. I now of people who have extremely poor health and have the same symptoms that addicts have and they only drink Coke.
90% of the population who use caffeine will probably will have difficulties health wise throughout their lives and it will effect them at different times in their life, and others will not be affected by it for some time, and again others will not seemingly feel the effects at all. However, everyone goes through the mind altering effects some how.
I’m not quoting a statistic, just using my experience as a drug and alcohol counselor. The problem for most people is what you said at the beginning of the article, how it effects the systems in our bodies.
I believe that most everyone is a=effected by it and some don’t even know its happening. One day they will, unfortunately.
Darrell
www.intelectol.com
Aug 13, 2007 at 3:03 am
Yes..I worked one day at a rest stop where we served coffee. There were a number of people who asked for cafine free drinks. They said caffine would keep them awake until the next day or give them the jitters. Being the fact I am very right brain, have found drinking coffee or caffine drinks keeps me awake all night, and makes me nervous. I asked the people who had the same symptoms if they were artistic and creative. They all said yes. There were some customers who said caffine didn’t affect them. I asked them if they were good in the math and science…they said yes.
I wonder if right brain people are more sensitive to caffine because the right brain produces more dophine, highly active already?
I want to do more research on this, as thus far 99% of the people I asked who are right brain are sensitive to caffine drinks.
Evie at isaiahtru@hotmail.com
Franky
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:20 am
You are sensless funnyless idiot.
Have a drink on me!
A WHISKY COLA!
Then smoke a cigar
After that, we’ll snort some coke.
SMOG IS THE PROBLEM - NOT SMOKE!
Franky
Franky
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:22 am
BTW:
We all die
some earlier some later.
Die earlier - more time to be dead
InWithdrawal
Sep 18, 2007 at 12:05 pm
I can’t say that the observations of the person working at the coffee stand are accurate for 99% of the population that they are talking about. I am both good at science/math and creative and artistic (musician). But caffeine affects me in both ways. Sometimes it causes me to be jittery and keeps me up all night (drinking coffee). Sometimes it doesn’t affect me at all seemingly (chocolate or sodas). Its really hard to tell. Supposedly caffeine is caffeine, but the different sources tend to affect me differently.
Either way, I have decided to cut it from my diet temporarily. This withdrawal is horrible.
Matthew
Oct 25, 2007 at 6:44 pm
As stated caffine has no connection whatsoever with heroin ecept for the fact that some people consider it a “drug”. All the effects are hyped up to sound like nails in your coffin and some of the effects happen only in 13% of caffine drinkers. I drink Monster Energy Supllement because I like the rush and do not want to get hooked on something like heroin. No side affects have occured to me in all my time of drinking it. When I have it it ussualy contains 2500mg of energy blend (to circumvent caffine laws). You obviously had nothing better to do and decided to make caffine sound like barbituates for fun. You have my pity but not my Monster.
yomoma
Nov 29, 2007 at 12:17 pm
yes very nice i like to get high
Bryce
Feb 21, 2008 at 10:45 am
Quote: “I drink Monster Energy Supllement because I like the rush and do not want to get hooked on something like heroin.”
For some reason that sounded funny to me. I got the visual picture of someone saying “I’d rather be hooked on something cheap and accessible than something expensive and hard to come by.”
Which, of course, makes financial sense, but why be hooked on anything at all?
CB
Apr 11, 2008 at 12:11 pm
HEHEHEHEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TI GLWSSA EINAI AYTH?????
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ROFL ROFL ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XAXAXAXAXAXAXA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
CB
Apr 11, 2008 at 12:14 pm
TI METAFRASH HTAN AYTH?????
XANA ROLF!!!!!!! KAI
XAXAXAXAXA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
APUSTEYTO PRAGMATIKA!
CB
Apr 11, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Ι λλ αγρεε ςηιτη τηε ονε τηατ σαιδ τηατ σμογ ισ τηε προβλεμ , νοτ σμοκε!
Ι ψαντ βελιεωε τηε λαθγησ ι ηαδ τοδαυ!
ΧΑΧΑΧΑΑΧΑΧ!!!!!!!!
CB
Apr 11, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Φιρστ υοθ σελλ το αλλ τηε ςορλδ ψιγγαρετεσ ανδ ψοφφε, υοθ κιλλ πεοπλε το τακε τηειρ προδθψτσ ψηεεπ, υοθ γετ αλ τηε ςορλδ αδδιψτεδ ανδ τηεν υοθ τρεατ τηεμ ασ ξθνκιεσ ανδ τρυ το σελλ τηε μεδιψθνε το μενδ τηεμ!!!! χαχαχα! τηισ ισ … θν.. ι ψαννοτ φινδ τηε ςορδ… ηηαηαηαηα!!!!
πατηετιψ!!!!!
δρινκ σηιτ!
Toad Phillips
Apr 30, 2008 at 6:02 am
Energy drinks are exspensive and taste bad.
I use to be addicted to caffeine but i quit found out that on an empty stomach 90mg, effected me the same as 200mg. I would start shaking, and felt and probably looked like a drug addict. “crackhead” It also made me feel happy, I was more social I was also probably annoying at times.
My friend took 8 caffeine pills and saw sideways, I think when you take enough caffeine to trip a little it’s a sign you might die.
For me The addiction wasn’t worth it, a day with a big headache was worth it, I still take caffeine sometimes but not in exccess.
Matthew
Jun 7, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I didn’t say i was hooked on it. I just have some every time i find myself down there (Vons). (its been a few months).
Matthew
Jun 7, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Ps: There is no such thing as a caffine addiction. people who say they were addicted are just trying to sound tough.
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