What Effect Does Caffeine Really Have on Your Body?

Americans consume enormous amounts of caffeine each day. While some people try to limit caffeine while pregnant, before a physical test, or just in the evening, we all know that it has some strange effects on our bodies. Caffeine is a stimulant that can be addicting. Though there have been no proven dangers of caffeine, there is still much unknown about the effects on the human body. I'll cover some of the most common effects that affect the majority of people alike.

Obviously since caffeine is a stimulant, it perks the body up a bit! The stimulant effect causes an increase in the cardiovascular and nervous system activity. Caffeine is absorbed into the bloodstream very easily through the digestive tract and can be available to your body in less than one hour after consumption. The levels increase gently, and decrease gently so the actual caffeine effects can begin shortly after consumption and remain in your body for several hours. The actual length of effect is different depending on your sex, body type and size, eating habits and the time of day.

Caffeine affects your nervous system by stimulating the nerve endings throughout your body and increases your brain functions. This nervous system stimulating results in a better mood for some, lessens fatigue, and helps people to think clearly and be more attentive. These effects are desired by almost anyone at some point in their day, which is why caffeine is so readily available and consumed so often.

The effects on your cardiovascular system also help to increase your ability to function when tired. Your heart rate increases which circulates more blood throughout your body, bringing your muscles the oxygen they need to function. Your respiratory rate also increases from the stimulant effect of caffeine. More oxygen is taken in through your lungs which makes it readily available to your bloodstream. Even your metabolism speeds up from caffeine consumption. All these effects can readily explain why so many people love to consume caffeine!

There are some negative effects of caffeine as well. When a person consumes coffee daily, your body does build up a tolerance somewhat. After 600 milligrams is consumed, negative effects may be seen. 6 cups of caffeinated coffee has about 600 milligrams of caffeine in it. Some of the negative effects include anxiety, insomnia, increased nerve functions, jitteriness; stomach upset and even excess sweating.

When a person consumes too much caffeine, you may actually have a harder time thinking straight and focusing on the task at hand. You also have to be careful if you are taking any medications as caffeine may affect how they work. Be sure to consult your doctor or pharmacist about the risk of caffeine consumption along with the medication you have been prescribed.

There are also negative affects from caffeine as far as the addiction goes. You can become addicting to the caffeine and a withdrawal from the substance can lead to headaches for many people. Also some people experience increased fatigue, depression, becoming more irritable and even a poor ability to concentrate. Generally people only need a day to get over the addiction of caffeine, but it is usually recommended to decrease your intake over a few days or weeks until you are completely resolved of the addiction.

The most common sources of caffeine are obvious and well known. They include coffee, soda, tea, hot chocolate, and even chocolate candies. Dark chocolate has more caffeine than milk chocolate. Since caffeine is considered a drug, it is always on the ingredient label of a substance in which it is contained.

It should be noted that caffeine should always be consumed in moderation. A dose of less than 500 milligrams has proven thus far to be safe for an average sized person. If you are trying to get pregnant, you may want to avoid caffeine since it can decrease the chance of conception. If pregnant you may also want to decrease your caffeine consumption since caffeine has been linked to miscarriage and low-birth weight babies.

Caffeine has proven to be a safe stimulant that is consumed all over the world. We as people love the extra boost it provides our body's and mind's with and simply couldn't make it through many days without it!