How Does Caffeine Work

How Caffeine Work? Caffeine is a stimulating substance that is found naturally not only when drinking coffee, but also in many other natural products, such as tea leaves, cocoa, herb mate ... etc.

Properties of caffeine and its effects on the body
After its ingestion, it is absorbed quickly and caffeine begins to take effect in the body, so it is normal to feel almost immediately a feeling of well-being, which increases as you stimulate dopamine secretion. In addition to offering us benefits at the mental level and filling us with energy when we need it, our body obtains other benefits from caffeine, namely:

-Coffee makes us produce more saliva and gastric juices, thus facilitating digestion.
-It is an excellent antioxidant, attacking free radicals that can damage our healthy cells.
-It seems that caffeine can alleviate some symptoms in Parkinson's patients.

But be careful with its excessive consumption or with the time of day when we have a cup of coffee, since when consumed as a drink to prevent sleep, we can exceed the amount recommended to take per day (about 300 mg per day/2 cups), with the consequent damage: caffeine causes insomnia, nervousness, headache ... In addition, caffeine consumption can lead to tolerance and dependence (we want more and more and it has less effect on us).

Drinking caffeine affects our sleep

Caffeine crosses the blood-brain barrier and, through a complex brain blocking mechanism, inhibits the action of a series of neurotransmitters and substances that control the sleep-wake cycle (especially adenosine), according to some studies.

Although it begins to take effect around 10 minutes after taking the dose, its maximum effect is 45 minutes after taking it.

However, there are some tips that we want to offer you so that you enjoy the pleasures that this substance offers us without affecting us to sleep:

You should never exceed 300 mg of caffeine a day (how curious to point out that the intake of 10 grams of caffeine would cause certain death). For the calculation, the following table can serve as a guide:

1 cup of coffee 120 mg.

1 cup of tea 30-70 mg.

1 cup decaf 0.3 mg

Colas 33cl. 30-40 mg.

1 chocolate bar 70mg.

Avoid caffeinated drinks after 3 in the afternoon: a coffee for a snack is not the best option, if we take into account that caffeine takes from half an hour to an hour to take effect, and that its half-life in the body is 5 hours.

Remember that not only coffee contains caffeine: chocolate, tea and even mate too, that's why it balances the amount you drink throughout the day.


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