Daily Coffee Shots Impact on Your Brain

Coffee happens to be the driving force for a large population of the world. For most people, carrying on without their daily coffee dose would be a nightmare. This pertinent and larger role that coffee plays in mood, productivity, and memory has caused it to be the center of discussion and research for a long time now. A few may suggest it is addicting and so must be limited while a few showcase the health benefits of the popular drink. What does the research say about its effect on the brain? Let’s find out!

Coffee contains a large number of bioactive compounds

Bioactive compounds like caffeine, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, cafestol, and kahweol allow coffee to be beneficial. Many of these compounds in the high-quality coffee beans are antioxidants that help fight the damage caused by the free radicals in the cells.

The caffeine in coffee happens to be the only psychoactive substance that is most commonly consumed all over the world. It stimulates the nervous system and affects the brain mainly through its interaction with adenosine receptors. Adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates sleep; it makes you sleepy. Caffeine can boost brain function as it can block adenosine.

Thus, promoting central nervous system stimulation, making you more alert.

Therefore, coffee can boost brain function in the short term via the above process. However, it also promotes brain activity by causing the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline. Due to this action, coffee is seen to improve mood, reaction time, vigilance, attention, learning ability, and general mental function. However, it must be noted that over time one may build a tolerance to coffee. So, then one may have to consume more coffee to achieve the same effects.

How does coffee influence memory?

The relationship between memory and coffee has been contested and researched intensively for a long time now. Certain studies prove that coffee does affect one’s memory in the short term and long term while few disregard this hypothesis completely. However, research does prove that regular coffee consumption does help in maintaining cognitive functions in older people, women in particular. Research has also been done on the effects of coffee on neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease happens to be the most common cause of dementia worldwide, causing memory loss along with other issues. There is no absolute cure for the disease, but there are ways of preventing it via one’s diet. Daily consumption of coffee throughout one’s life can pace down age-related cognitive decline as well as the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This effect increases with age and is especially true with women. A meta-analysis found that coffee consumption was connected with a 17-20% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, there needs to be higher quality research with randomized controlled trials to factually determine the relationship between coffee and Alzheimer’s.

Coffee impact on Parkinson disease

Research also suggests that coffee could prevent Parkinson’s disease from developing in people. This disease is a chronic disorder in the central nervous system. It affects movement and mobility and may cause tremors too. But there is no absolute cure for this disease as well. In a large review conducted, the people who drank three cups of coffee per day reported a 29% lower risk of contracting the disease. The study also tried to see if increasing the dosage of coffee had any effect on the results. However, consuming 5 cups didn’t seem to considerably add to the benefit of the substance. This indicates that more in this case is not necessarily better. This effect of coffee and Parkinson’s is achieved due to the primary ingredient caffeine in coffee.

Coffee and sleep

Coffee also affects the brain in terms of sleep. The stimulants affect sleep patterns and according to research, there is a clear connection between daily intake of coffee (with the caffeine) and sleep quantity, quality, and daytime sleepiness. This does differ from person to person as their sensitivity to the stimulant and level of exposure varies. Coffee also may suppress feelings of tiredness or fatigue, which is why it is the first thing most people need to start their day.

However, it is also noted that the boost of energy due to the drink doesn’t last too long. It would wear off quickly and you would have to take another shot of coffee to feel alert. If consumed in the latter part of the day, it might affect your sleep at night. There is a possibility of you becoming an insomniac too. It is also seen that if your coffee shots reduce the quality of your sleep, then it is most likely to have the complete opposite effect on your brain function in general. It may make you feel more tired due to this sleep loss.

Conclusion

To conclude, too much of anything is bad! Even the ever-favourite coffee!

When consumed in moderation, coffee may have a tremendously healthy effect on your brain. It can improve mood, vigilance, learning, etc. in the short term and may also help prevent major diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in the long term. Indeed, research is still to advance for us to get a clearer correlation between coffee and the various aspects of our brain, but for now, coffee does have remarkable effects on the health of the brain.

If excessively consumed, coffee can cause anxiety, jitters, heart palpitations, addiction, and sleep problems. Therefore, enjoy coffee but in moderation!