Introduction
Nowadays, the vast majority of people consume caffeinated beverages daily. Believe it or not, but by drinking a regular cup of coffee, tea, or a can of Coke, people are taking one of the most widespread in the world drugs. Levinthal (2014) notes that although caffeine is one of the psychoactive drugs, “among the range of psychoactive stimulants existing, caffeine is considerably weaker than most, and research suggests that caffeine consumption is relatively benign” (p. 276). Therefore, there is no need to overreact and stop drinking a morning coffee. However, it is a good reason to delve deeper into the issue and find out about some necessary precautions. This paper aims at studying caffeine, its modern forms, and its effects by analyzing a personal experience connected with the consumption of this “light” drug.
Main body
To begin with, it is impossible to deny that most people consume some amount of caffeine one way or another. For instance, it can be a coffee or tea in the morning, a piece of chocolate in a tea break, some Coke for lunch, and so on. Since everybody has an utterly different body and everybody’s inner systems work diversely, the quantity of caffeine needed in each case and, consequently, its influence varies considerably. Researchers note that “the metabolism, clearance, and pharmacokinetics of caffeine is affected by many factors such as age, sex and hormones, liver disease, obesity, smoking, and diet” (Nehlig, 2018, p. 388). One more significant factor is claimed to be the interaction of caffeine with various medicines. Some people may experience strong effects of caffeinated products while others will feel no difference between their state before and after consumption. Considering all this, it is possible to note that in every particular situation with different people, consumption, resulted in addiction, side effects, and so on will be drastically contrasting.
One more essential factor to consider is the tolerance towards behavioral, physical, and psychological effects of caffeine that is claimed to occur throughout consumption. According to Levinthal (2014), although caffeine tolerance is hard to evaluate, scientists claim that tolerance effects start to appear for utterly low dosages, such as equal one or two cups of coffee. It is possible to note that, in the case of tolerance, the situation is somewhat similar to the consumption in general. In other words, for every particular person, the tolerance and the moment in that it occurs will vary remarkably. The same situation can be observed in terms of differences in response to caffeine intake among people with various habitual consumption. Researchers note that “low, moderate, and high consumers show similar absolute and relative improvements in exercise performance” (Gonçalves et al., 2017, p. 217). It proves that caffeine intake does not influence physical performance to a great extent. The main point here is that it does not make it worse, and no negative consequences are discovered. Conversely, the consumption results in some minor improvements without dependence on the habitual intake.
Although tolerance towards caffeine consumption is not a considerable problem, there is one more essential point – withdrawal. It is one of the primary reasons why caffeine is considered to be a drug. In this case, withdrawal includes such symptoms as drowsiness, headache, irritability, impaired concentration, muscle aches, and so on. However, the situation with psychological symptoms of withdrawal is not so clear. It is complicated to indicate correctly whether people tend to take one more cup of caffeinated beverages because they crave to drink it or in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms (Levinthal, 2014). Although caffeine does not impact people in the way other drugs do, it still has some similar adverse effects on people’s bodies and health. Therefore, it is better to treat caffeinated products with cautiousness and not overuse them.
As for behavioral and psychological effects, there were not many studies conducted on this issue. However, researchers note that some characteristics, such as reaction time, are not affected by caffeine consumption while there is an effect on behaviors, including focusing attention (Spiller, 2019). Therefore, it is possible to note that caffeine is not as damaging to people’s health as other psychoactive drugs, although it is considered to be one of them. Since only a significant dosage can cause a remarkable effect on a person, it cannot be a reason for anxiety. Nevertheless, it does not mean that it is reasonable to drink enormous amounts of caffeinated drinks. Conversely, it is strongly advised not to overuse caffeine, but just as any other food or drink.
Talking about my personal experience connected with caffeinated beverages, the first thing I remember is family gatherings where half of the people were firmly against coffee and another half-drunk it without any hindsight. As a child, I thought that coffee is something alien, a strange substance from the adults’ world. Although, for some reason, I felt that it is prohibited for children, and I used to consider it incorrect when my coevals drunk it or told me about it. Later on, when I was in secondary school, I developed a habit of drinking Coke, although I cannot say that it had any particular effect on me.
However, from time to time, I used to share some overnight stays with my best friend, and we regularly drunk large quantities of Coke and stayed up all night long. I do not remember promptly, but it is possible to note that Coke, or, precisely speaking, caffeine, influenced us that way. In addition, it was around the same age when I tried coffee and formed my first opinion on that beverage – it was not for me at all. Only later, when I was around 15, I found out that coffee with various syrups is a tasty thing. It is important to note that during this time, I realized that neither coffee nor other caffeinated beverages have almost no effect on me. In other words, I did not feel any boost of energy or uplifting mood as a result of consuming caffeine. Therefore, I did not have to reduce or change the amount of it in my diet. I can also claim that I did not experience any effects of tolerance towards caffeine since there was no considerable change in my state due to the consumption.
Nowadays, I can note that I consume caffeinated products approximately on an average level without eating or drinking them too much or not enough. In other words, I drink a cup of tea in the morning, from time to time, a Coke for lunch, and I do not eat much chocolate and sugar. In addition, I do not experience any problems connected with everyday routine activities, and I do not have any medical prescriptions. Therefore, I can claim that I neither need to cut down on such products nor to stop consuming any of them.
Conclusion
To sum everything mentioned above up, it seems significant to emphasize that caffeine, although considered to be a drug, is utterly unlikely to cause any adverse harm, such as severe intoxication or harmful side effects. Nevertheless, researchers agree that uncontrolled and irresponsible consumption of caffeine can result in some remarkable behavioral problems, such as difficulty sleeping, alertness, anxiety, and so on (Wikoff et al., 2017). It is also possible to experience weakness in some cases after the main effect of caffeine is over. However, these cases are related mostly to large dosages, not usual morning coffees. Caffeine has many positive effects on people’s health, such as a reduction in exhaustion and boredom, boosts of energy, and so on. Nevertheless, regrettably, the tolerance towards caffeine consumption occurs and expresses some withdrawal symptoms. Therefore, it is also important to note that people should be careful with caffeine and try not to overuse it.
Last but not least, nowadays, caffeinated products have become widespread among young people. It may be a reason for concerns since the bodyweight of young adults is less than the weight of a grown person. The most common health problems in these cases are claimed to be insomnia, anxiety, and nervousness. Further research on the issue is to be conducted, and some regulations are to be enacted. It is also essential to research and discuss the issue among scientific, medical, and governmental departments.
References
Gonçalves, L. D. S., Painelli, V. D. S., Yamaguchi, G., Oliveira, L. F. D., Saunders, B., da Silva, R. P., & Gualano, B. (2017). Dispelling the myth that habitual caffeine consumption influences the performance response to acute caffeine supplementation. Journal of Applied Physiology, 123(1), 213-220.
Levinthal, C. F. (2014). Drugs, behavior, and modern society. Bergen, NJ: Pearson.
Nehlig, A. (2018). Interindividual differences in caffeine metabolism and factors driving caffeine consumption. Pharmacological Reviews, 70(2), 384-411.
Spiller, G. A. (2019). Caffeine. n.p.: CRC Press.
Wikoff, D., Welsh, B. T., Henderson, R., Brorby, G. P., Britt, J., Myers, E., & Tenenbein, M. (2017). Systematic review of the potential adverse effects of caffeine consumption in healthy adults, pregnant women, adolescents, and children. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 109, 585-648.