Why is Caffeine So Addictive?

Most American's like to start there day with a cup of some kind of caffeine maybe as coffee, tea or the unusual start to the day soda with caffeine in it.. If you do start you day with a taste of caffeine you are definitely not alone. Americans drink more then 530 million cups of coffee a day. That is a lot of coffee in a day. Drinking a drink with caffeine in it is nothing new according to archaeologists people has been brewing caffeine concoctions since the Stone Age. Caffeine is a friendly wake up call telling you to get going in a nice manner. You get a feeling of home and a welcome feeling with coffee. It is a good social drink for a group of people when they get together.

Caffeine picks you up when you are tired and tells you to keep going. Your brain releases a chemical called adenosine when it feels tired and wants to slow down. But caffeine mimics adenosine and prevents adenosine from getting through to you receptors so your brain never gets the signal to slow down and it keeps on going for awhile. But after awhile your brain figures our what is happening and it increases the number of receptor cells so it can get through the caffeine and adenosine. When that happens caffeine doesn't help you stay awake as good as it use too unless you increase you amount of caffeine that you drink. This process only takes about a week to happen. Then your brain literally restructures itself so it can run on caffeine. If you stop drinking the caffeine then your brain has too many receptor cells to operate on. That is why caffeine is so addictive and it is so hard to get off of it.

If you are able to quit drinking caffeine altogether then your brain reduces the number of receptor cells pretty much right away but that complete process takes about 2 weeks. And during that time you can feel tired, fatigue pain, headaches and even nausea. If you cut out caffeine gradually these symptoms are not so bad so it is better to gradually cut down on caffeine.

There are some good reasons to drink caffeine. It has been proven to increase you alertness for a temporary time and also your memory and reflexes. It can give you a burst of energy and there is some study that says it can help your immune system. But you have to watch the quantity that your consume since it can have bad effects as well like shaking, insomnia and heart palpitations. It is important to cut down on caffeine if you have any undesirable symptoms.

Does the typical American child get more or less caffeine then the typical American adult? The answer is pound for pound the American child gets more in the chocolate and soda that they drink. Children are smaller therefore they need less caffeine then an adult to get the same results in the caffeine.

What happens to the caffeine that is taken out of Decaffeinated coffee? The caffeine is put into soft drinks. Some soft drink have caffeine naturally but sometimes they put in even more. Some sort drinks are made to give people a pick-me-up and they want the caffeine to give the pick-me-up.

The top four sources of caffeine in the American diet are coffee, soft drinks, tea, and chocolate in that order.