Attitudes about caffeine abuse

Added: 12/12/2005

People often say that caffeine makes them feel more capable for intellectual and physical activity and less tired and drowsy. But, expects have shown that caffeine abuse has slowed reaction time to visual and auditory stimuli; it can also lead to diminishing your intellectual and physical performances. The symptoms of caffeine abuse called caffenism, are tiredness, craving, confusion, lethargy, and headaches.

The facts show that each year about 120,000 tons of caffeine is consumed worldwide. Caffeine overdose, caffenism, affects 90 percent of Americans today. 200 mg is the average amount of consumption, and a woman can metabolize caffeine about 25 percent faster than a man. Caffeine is considered a controversial drug of abuse that alters the state of the brain and stimulates it the way that heroin and cocaine does.

As well as heroin and cocaine, caffeine overdose, caffenism, is the capacity to stimulate the production of dopamine. Dopamine represents a neurotransmitter, which activates the centers of pleasure in the brain and, finally, the person feels very good. Generally, most people around the world are unaware of the consequences of caffeine abuse.

Caffeine abuse leads to tolerance which represents the increase of the dose of this drug that is needed to reach the expected effect. Regular coffee consumption leads to a reduction of sensitivity to caffeine. Therefore, when coffee intake is stopped or reduced, the human body becomes very sensitive to adenosine. With this sensitivity, the body's blood pressure drops fast, producing an excess of blood in the brain which leads to a headache.

The caffeine users suffer for irritability, fatigue, or depression but they don't know the cause. As a rule, the source of most caffeine comes from such sources as coffee, tea, cola drinks, and chocolate. Caffeine is also found in many non-prescriptive medications, for example, cold remedies, and weight loss remedies.

Caffeine abuse can provoke problems with heat, basal metabolic rate, respiration, gastro enteric reflexes, and can also lead to smooth muscles, especially bronchial muscles. These deviations vary greatly. It usually depends on the sensitivity of that person to that drug, his or her metabolism, and how many times a day the person consumes caffeine.

It takes about 20-45 minutes for caffeine, which is absorbed from the stomach into the bloodstream to reach its peak level. After, 30-60 minutes, the central nervous system, CNS, is stimulated to its maximum level. The dug caffeine is metabolized into the liver and after that, its metabolites are usually excreted into urine. Caffeine continues to affect the body as long as it is in human body. It takes many hours or even many days for the body to eliminate one-half of the quantity of caffeine which was consumed. Each dose of caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and produces several effects in the human body.

The symptoms of caffeine overdose, caffenism, vary in dependence of quantity consumed and the specific individual. Quantities of 250 mg to 750 mg can produce headaches, nausea, restlessness, tense muscles, tiredness, mood and cardiac problems, and other negative effects. Quantities of over 750 mg will cause an anxiety attack with drowsiness, delirium, diarrhea, ringing ears, tremors, vomiting, light flashes, and other things.

Therefore, the following terms: caffeine abuse, caffeine overdose, caffenism, and their impact should be discussed all over the world, because for some people it could be too late sometimes.

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