![]() Caffeine helps us stay awake, increases our ability to focus, and gives everything a silver lining, all while actually being good for our overall health. We love the taste, sure, but we’d be lying if we said our initial infatuation with coffee wasn’t sparked by its caffeine content. Mild consumption of caffeine in one to four cups of standard coffee per day is generally considered safe and might be linked with an overall reduced mortality rate. On the other hand, coffee has been shown to be good for heart health! Too much caffeine – equivalent to more than four cups of coffee per day – can be dangerous and increase the chance of developing heart problems. When you drink a cup of coffee, your heart rate and blood pressure can increase, making coffee consumption safe only for people without any underlying heart conditions. Another receptor called the A2A receptor controls our mood by regulating the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine.īesides being a psychoactive substance, caffeine is also a stimulant. Over the course of a day, more adenosine binds with A1 receptors, making us feel sleepier as nighttime and sleep approach. When adenosine binds with A1 receptors, it promotes relaxation and sleep. Two of the most important are A1 receptors and A2A receptors. Adenosine has several receptors, each with its own effects. In our brains, receptors can bind with certain molecules to elicit neurological responses. Chemically, caffeine is very similar to adenosine, and this similarity is what allows caffeine to interact with our brains.īefore we can understand how caffeine works, we must first understand adenosine.Īdenosine is an organic compound that has a variety of effects on the human brain and plays an important role in regulating sleep and balancing brain activity and mood. Timeshifter will tell you when you could benefit from using caffeine during your trips to get the maximum benefits, and when to avoid caffeine to avoid disrupting your sleep.Caffeine is a psychoactive substance, meaning it affects how your mind works and can alter your mood, consciousness, and cognition. Caffeine is too powerful for children, and their small size increases the relative dose compared to adults and so caffeine should not be given to children.Įnjoying caffeine at the right time can help increase your energy level while traveling, but caffeine at the wrong time can negatively impact your sleep quality and may reduce your ability to sleep. Using caffeine “little and often”, and then stopping it as long as possible before bed, will optimize the benefits of caffeine and minimize the negative effects on sleep. Having caffeine in your body at bedtime will have a negative effect on your sleep that night. It typically has a half-life of three to five hours so if you take 100mg of caffeine at 10am, you will still have 12.5mg of caffeine in your system at bedtime 12 hours later. Caffeine stays in our system for a long time. As a result, caffeine is a highly effective stimulant. Caffeine is an adenosine-receptor antagonist and therefore blocks the sleepiness-inducing effects of adenosine. Adenosine is part of the sleep regulation system, and is associated with increased sleepiness. A by-product of this energy use is an increase in the amount of adenosine in our bodies. Work out the caffeine content of your typical drink so you can plan how much to have. Brewed ‘drip’ coffee and energy drinks tend to have very high amounts of caffeine so only half a cup of these is needed every two hours. Enjoying caffeine 8 hours or less before bedtime will negatively impact your sleep quality.įor those travelers who want to use caffeine, Timeshifter provides advice on when and how to use it, and when to avoid it, to support the light-dark and sleep schedule that will reset your clock quickly.Ĭaffeine is present in tea, coffee, caffeinated sodas, chocolate, and in some pain medications. More than that will not make you more alert but may reduce your ability to sleep later. ![]() When you're tired while traveling, a cup of caffeinated tea or coffee, or a caffeinated soda (equivalent to about 50mg of caffeine) every two hours should help you stay awake.
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