Caffeine, Health and Recovery
during sleep.
When caffeine is ingested and goes into the stomach, it quickly travels to the brain. Once there it binds to the adenosine nerve receptors. But instead of cellular activity slowing, this results in it speeding up. The cell can no longer bind with adenosine, because the caffeine is linked up with all of its available receptors. The usual effect of adenosine is blocked in this way and the cell begins accelerating its activity. In addition to this, because adenosine is shut out, the brain’s blood vessels begin to constrict. The increased neuron firing in the brain stimulates the pituitary gland. The pituitary signals the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline (epinephrine), the “fight or flight” hormone.Unfortunately, when the adrenaline wears off, you feel fatigued and that drives you to get more caffeine. As you go through this cycle many times through the day, you will find yourself becoming more and more irritable.
Caffeine raises the blood pressure and increases the levels of various stress hormones, and for those very sensitive to it or consuming large quantities, it can cause heart palpitations and nervousness. If sustained by regular coffee drinking over a lifetime, these increases in blood pressure and heart rate will elevate the risk of stroke and heart disease. Heavy coffee drinkers, those having five or more cups per day, were two to three times more likely to have coronary heart disease than were nondrinkers.
Caffeine at a high level can eventually lead to exhaustion of the adrenal glands. Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that increases blood levels of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands. The adrenal hormones regulate stress response, blood pressure, blood sugar, mineral levels, immune activity, inflammation, and cell growth and repair. Long term caffeine consumption contributes to adrenal insufficiency, in which over 150 hormones produced by the adrenals or metabolized from adrenal hormones no longer function adequately.
Caffeine causes the body to produce greater amounts of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. These elevated levels can last for hours having a negative effect on serotonin and dopamine production. Anxiety will increase and even depression can result from these changes.
People sometimes feel sharper after their cup of coffee, however the increased cortisol will lead to restricted blood to the brain and eventually causes poorer mental performance.
People who chronically stimulate their adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol alter their daily pattern of cortisol concentrations so that cortisol is low in the morning when they wake up instead of high. So they reach for a cup of coffee to artificially spike their cortisol levels up again. These same people experience huge cortisol surges at meals causing them to overeat. They have higher body fat, lower muscle mass, and reduced metabolism, so they burn fewer calories. They don’t sleep well at night because elevated cortisol levels keep them from entering the deep, rebuild and repair stage of sleep the body needs for recuperation. High levels of cortisol will also compromise your immune system and interfere with your body’s ability to fight off pathogens.
Be aware that if you frequently drink coffee or have other sources of caffeine, including ,especially, the many popular caffeinated sodas ,and find that at end of the day you are regularly stressed out and exhausted, even depressed and worried, it could very well be the result of the caffeine generating large amounts of cortisol in your body.
In the end, those seeking the healthiest life should avoid the caffeine to be found in many popular beverages. You should avoid caffeinated coffee, and even Decaf, which is not totally caffeine free, and get in the habit of reading the ingredients on the labels of all sodas and drinks, and choose only the ones which are free of caffeine. Fortunately, for those in successful recovery from alcohol, which had caused hangovers and interfered with the important REM sleep, the powerful need for caffeine in the form of coffee in the morning no longer exists.
Jeffrey Rose, CMH, is New York’s leading doctor-referred, Certified Hypnotist , ( He is certified by both the National Guild of Hypnotists, and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists), and is the director at The Advanced Hypnosis Center, (www.ahcenter.com), in New York City. Having practiced hypnosis for many years, he has successfully helped people with a wide variety of challenges to make important changes in their life and achieve their goals. Mr. Rose is not only a skilled practitioner of the art of hypnosis, but he is very knowledgeable in a wide variety of health-related fields. He has written many articles for health magazines, including being a staff writer for Recover Magazine, and is currently writing a book on weight loss.
Pages: 1 2