13 Reasons Your Brain Loves Coffee

It's no secret to any coffee drinker that coffee is liquid gold. But did you know how and why your brain and body love these things so much?

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The morning drink (or afternoon drink for some) is best known for its high caffeine content, which invigorates even the most tired eyes.

Given the popularity of coffee, several studies have examined its effects on your health, both in the short term and the long term.

As it turns out, moderate coffee consumption is associated with health benefits, including a reduced risk of prediabetes and liver disease.

Researchers have also examined the effect of caffeine on your brain, and the findings so far look very promising when it comes to your cognitive health.

Active ingredients in coffee

Coffee contains hundreds of bioactive compounds that contribute to its potentially powerful health benefits.

Many of these compounds are antioxidants that fight damage caused by harmful free radicals in your cells.

Here are the most important active ingredients of coffee.

Caffeine. Caffeine, the main active ingredient in coffee, stimulates the central nervous system.

Chlorogenic acids. These polyphenol antioxidants may benefit some biological pathways, such as blood sugar metabolism and high blood pressure.

Cafestol and kahweol. These compounds, which are found in the natural oil of coffee, are found in high amounts in unfiltered coffee.

trigonellin. This alkaloid compound is unstable at high heat and forms nicotinic acid, also known as niacin (vitamin B3), during roasting.

However, the amounts of these substances in a cup of coffee can vary.

Coffee can be a healthy beverage packed with hundreds of biologically active compounds, including caffeine, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, cafetol, and kahweol.

How does coffee affect the brain?

Caffeine affects the central nervous system (CNS) in several ways.

The effects are believed to be primarily due to the way caffeine interacts with adenosine receptors.

Adenosine is a sleep-promoting neurotransmitter in your brain.

The neurons in your brain have special receptors to which adenosine can bind. When it binds to these receptors, it inhibits the tendency of neurons to fire. This slows down neural activity.

Adenosine normally accumulates during the day and eventually makes you sleepy when it's time to sleep.

Caffeine and adenosine have a similar molecular structure. So when caffeine is present in the brain, it competes with adenosine for binding to the same receptors.

But caffeine doesn't slow the firing of your neurons the way adenosine does. Instead, it prevents adenosine from slowing down neural activity.

Caffeine makes you feel alert by promoting CNS stimulation.

Caffeine is the main reason why coffee strengthens brain functions. This stimulant blocks adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that makes you sleepy.

How can caffeine increase brain function?

Caffeine can cause an increase in resting brain entropy.

Brain entropy is vital to brain function, and high levels indicate high processing abilities. An increase in resting brain entropy indicates higher information processing capacity.

Caffeine also stimulates the CNS by promoting the release of other neurotransmitters, including noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.

Caffeine can improve several aspects of brain function, including:

mode

reaction time

alertness

Caution

learning

general mental function

However, you can develop a tolerance to caffeine over time. This means you will need to consume more coffee than before to get the same effects.

However, remember that more is not always better.

In fact, it has been noted that healthy adults should consume only 4 or 5 cups (400 milligrams) a day to avoid potentially dangerous or negative side effects.

If you are trying to conceive or are pregnant, breastfeeding, sensitive to caffeine, taking medications or living with an underlying condition, you may want to speak to a healthcare professional.

Together you can decide which #caffeine is right for you.

Caffeine causes changes in several neurotransmitters that can improve mood, reaction time, learning, and alertness.

Caffeine and memory

Coffee and caffeine can also affect your memory, but research on this is mixed and more studies are needed.

Some research suggests that caffeine can have a significant positive effect on both short-term and long-term memory.

Other studies have not reported any effects on memory or even found that caffeine impairs performance on memory tasks.

In one study, when participants consumed a caffeine tablet after viewing a series of images, their ability to recognize images was enhanced after 24 hours.

Caffeine was also more resistant to forgetting these memories compared to the placebo group.