The Potential Brain Benefits of Caffeine
I feel like caffeine, and coffee specifically, has gotten a bad rep lately. Maybe it’s because many of us claim to be addicted to it and need it to get through our days. Or maybe it’s the media headlines on the nasty side effects that we want to ignore. Whatever it is, the hype recently hasn’t been great.
Caffeine acts like a stimulant on the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). It raises the physiological and nervous activity making you feel energized and awake. There are three main ways caffeine works in your brain:
It blocks adenosine receptors. Adenosine is a chemical that makes us feel tired and receptors control what comes in and out a cell. When we drink coffee, caffeine acts like adonsine, binding the receptors which block it from being able to enter the brain; thus, making us feel more awake. However, adenosine eventually catches on and creates more receptors for it to bind to. This leads to the feeling of needing more caffeine to stay awake.
It affects how calcium moves around our brain. Calcium is important for managing levels of chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) like adenosine, GABA, and noradrenaline, all which make us feel tired and help us sleep. If we have too much caffeine, it stops the calcium from getting where it needs to, essentially blocking the effects of these chemicals and making us feel more awake.
Caffeine also blocks dopamine receptors, leading to higher levels of the feel good neurotransmitter in your brain. This is also why coffee can feel addictive; we want the good feelings of coffee to last.
Historically, drinking coffee has been linked to health conditions from heart disease to asthma. Although the studies reporting these findings failed to mention important factors like that most people in the studies also smoked cigarettes. And those in the study were drinking 5 or more cups a day, which is on the high end of caffeine consumption.
More recent studies have challenged these findings. There have been advancements in research allowing researchers to address some of the issues and weaknesses in the earlier studies, and learn even more about the health impacts of coffee and caffeine. And it turns out the findings are quite exciting
Coffee has shown to have several benefits for brain function and brain protection. While research on coffee and caffeine is ongoing, here are some of the more exciting benefits.
Coffee can boost problem solving skills
One perk to drinking coffee is that it could help with creativity and problem solving. One study compared two groups of people; one that had drunk a 12oz cup of coffee and one that didn’t. The coffee group showed significantly better problem solving skills. And while there are some murmurs about caffeine also helping stimulate creativity, has not been seen in the research.
Coffee help improves focus
Another benefit of coffee is how it impacts your dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that is linked to feelings of pleasure and motivation. It’s part of the reward system and released after doing things that make us feel good; Things like sex, a hard workout, or smelling a pie baking in the oven.
It turns out that caffeine in coffee increases function of dopamine receptors in the brain. Receptors control what is allowed in and out of a cell. By regularly drinking coffee, you are increasing dopamine’s ability to affect the brain, leading to boosting motivation and drive.
May protect your brain against aging
Coffee contains more than a thousand different compounds, but those most linked to protecting the brain are caffeine and polyphenols. These compounds can act as antioxidants and fight inflammation which prevent damage to our cells and even may help stimulate growth of new neurons, or brain cells. This can help lower the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, conditions linked to the aging brain, like Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and memory function. Research also suggests that more coffee, up to 5 cups a day, may prevent stroke.
Coffee may protect against depression
Coffee contains natural chemicals called polyphenols which act as antioxidants, reducing damaging oxidative stress and inflammation. This anti-inflammatory effect has brain benefits and may act as an antidepressant at lower doses. One study reported that after analyzing a series of studies they found a 24% lower risk in developing depression when comparing high intake coffee drinkers (4.5 cups a day) to low (less than 1 cup). This means that drinking more coffee was linked to a 8% lower chance of depression. Another study from this year looked at the connection of drinking coffee and experiencing depression and anxiety. They assessed over 144,000 people and found that those who drank 2-3 cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of developing these conditions.
Things to keep in mind
Despite these exciting benefits of your favorite cup of Joe, it’s important to remember that these effects may be different by individual and depending on the type of coffee you drink. Also things like how long you’ve drank coffee, if you’re drinking on an empty stomach, your age and genetic factors. Each of these may affect how you benefit from drinking coffee, or not. And most of the studies are looking at drinking moderate amounts of coffee, that is 2-5 cups a day, so if you drink more than that, you might not experience the same things.
If you’re new to coffee and are curious about its benefits, be sure to start out slowly or you may overwhelm your nervous system and end up feeling jittery, shaky and anxious. Talking to your doctor is a good idea too.
And on the note of anxiety, be aware of how much coffee you drink as caffeine is known to increase feelings of anxiety and may even trigger panic attacks if you drink too much.
As with anything, there are pros and cons. But the research is promising that there may actually be brain benefits to caffeine making it not all that bad for us after all. Lucky us.
