Quitting Caffeine
72 hours is only three days, slightly less than half the week, a minor blip on an annual calendar. How hard could it be to remain abstinent from essentially anything of my choosing for 72 hours? I created a mental list of things I could quit, after a few hours of self-reflection I decided to make these 72 hours a challenge. While caffeine is a drug, Dr. Michael Kuhar of Emery University in Atlanta prefers to use the term “dependent” rather than “addicted” when categorizing extreme use. (Fortin, 2009) Caffeine is the substance that I consume the most in my life and I would consider myself “dependent”. I consume caffeine every day, I start every morning with coffee and continue to drink it throughout the day. I try to avoid soda and junk food in my diet so almost all of the caffeine that I consume comes from coffee. A typical 8 oz. cup of brewed coffee contains
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Again I started my day with my normal routine, sans coffee, except now the symptoms seemed to be clearing. My headache had finally started to subside, and I felt rested. The haze that I experienced on Wednesday seemed all but gone. I was optimistic that the entire day would stay like this, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I still struggle through my daily workout, missing my caffeine jump start, but it was an improvement from Wednesday. I continued to keep my water intake a little higher than normal in hopes that this would help to elevate some of the symptoms, as well as fill the voids where I would normally be drinking coffee. Staying hydrated had the positive effect I had envisioned, it seemed to give me an energy boost that helped propel me through the days without caffeine. Friday was the easiest of the three days, the splitting headache and lethargic feelings that I experienced on Wednesday were a distant memory. I was no longer irritable and my energy levels seemed to normalize
The objective of this experiment was to perform extraction. This is a separation and purification technique, based on different solubility of compounds in immiscible solvent mixtures. Extraction is conducted by shaking the solution with the solvent, until two layers are formed. One layer can then be separated from the other. If the separation does not happen in one try, multiple attempts may be needed.
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that occurs naturally in at least 63 plant species. Caffeine can be found in the leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of these various plants. Caffeine is part of the methylxanthine family. It consists of a xanthine molecule with three methyl groups attached to it. Caffeine can be found in many products like sodas, tea, and coffee, but it also occurs in several other products such as prescription medications, diuretics, and pain relievers. Caffeine’s widespread use and popularity have caused many people to view the substance as an addictive drug. Thus making caffeine the most inexpensive and readily available drug known to man. Then on the other hand there are people who view caffeine as a helpful stimulant that increases the individual’s concentration and awareness as well as many other physical traits. The important thing to remember is that caffeine’s affects vary based on the person, the amount ingested, the frequency of consumption, and individual metabolism. (http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/kopykit/caffeine.html)
Caffeine is the most popular and most widely used stimulant in the world. In Canada, the average person drinks 2.6 cups of coffee a day; that is equivalent to 949 cups of coffee a year. (Van Houtte) Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that improves ones attention, focus, and fatigue. When caffeine is ingested it causes your neurons to move at a faster rate, increasing alertness. (Fit Day) Caffeine also binds to the neural receptors, which blocks the adenosine, which prolongs tiredness. Caffeine is a white odorless powder that is most commonly found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and pops. Caffeine can also be considered and ergogenic aid. Ergogenic aids are external influences that enhance/ improves ones strength, endurance, reaction time and speed of recovery. (Healthline) The three theories that make caffeine an ergogenic aid during exercise is the effect it has on the central nervous system, skeletal muscles, and metabolic changes. (Sheila G. Dean) Caffeine also has a positive effect on an individual’s health, some positive effects include: reduces risk of developing liver cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. (Chawala) Caffeine has been proven to have positive effects on an athlete’s performance, and ones overall health.
Does one drink caffeine? Caffeine is everywhere, it's in everything, it's apart of our daily lives. That’s what people doesn’t realizes; every soda drink, every cup of coffee, and every energy drink he or she gulps down before a thrilling game, all of that is caffeine. Caffeine is only completed when he or she get addicted. Caffeine can be an exceptional threat to the human body; energy drinks for example, it has enough caffeine to kill someone if he or she drinks enough. Energy drinks has been the number one drink high school students drink to stay awake in school; they even bring the drink in classrooms, and more than one energy drink. Soda has enough caffeine to destroy ones inner body. Soda is a everyday drink for some individuals, they
Beep Beep, Beep Beep! Your alarm is going off, so you roll over and hit snooze. This happens a few times, and before you realize it, it is 7 o’clock. You have 30 minutes before your big biology final, and you’re still groggy and tired. You throw on your clothes and grab a caffeinated beverage of your choice before sprinting out the door. You know you can’t rely on caffeine to stimulate your brain, or can you?
Scrutiny of caffeine and its effects has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, due in part to an increase in consumption of caffeine. In fact, coffee consumption among young adults rose to 3.2 cups per day in 2008 from 2.4 cups per day in 2005 (Rokerya 1). For instance, in a one hour period, on Richland College’s on-campus Starbucks, the author took note of how many customers arrived and purchased a cup of coffee. Between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, there were 51 customers, implying that – especially at college - many people are dependent on coffee in the mornings. However, the results from these studies are inconclusive and often somewhat contradictory – many studies (such as that by Tetsuya Ohara et al.) show that caffeine is a great boon to
The term energy drinks refers to beverages that contain caffeine in combination with other ingredients such as guarana and other vitamins and minerals. In other words, energy drinks can be defined as a soft drink containing a high percentage of sugar, caffeine, or another stimulant, typically consumed during or after sporting activity or as a way of overcoming tiredness. Energy drinks are highly sweetened, caffeinated beverages that are packaged in brightly colored, slim line containers. They are sold virtually everywhere. At first, energy drinks were sold as a medicinal tonic drink and they have some benefits if person take it in limit. There are various negative effects of energy
So, it is clear that addiction is all around us and can attack anyone of us at any given time. Even studies conducted show that people neglect to speak around their dependency for two primary reasons. Foremost, because people do not comprehend, or they bear a total misconception to their addiction, that they do not realize that addictions can be critical to their overall wellness. Moreover, second, many people believe being an addict will never happen to them, but, in reality, most addictions start off as simple little habits. Such as starting with one drink after dinner and before you know it you are drinking several drinks a day. However, one does not opt to be addicted to a substance, because addictions are physical defects in the brain, a disease, and not one’s choice.
The anti-reward system plays a major role in the occurrence of aversive effects in the body like jitteriness, and nausea; and is responsible for the negative-reinforcement that occurs through resumed drug taking. Negative reinforcement is responsible for bringing about the aversive effects that occur during withdrawal (i.e., when one intends to stop consuming the drug). This highlights the importance of the neuroadaptations that occur with prolonged drug use and can occur with over-consumption of caffeine (Meyer & Quenzer, 2005). In addition, caffeine can cause detrimental physiological effects, such as over-consumption.
Do you know what the most commonly used drug around the world is? It’s not cocaine nor marijuana, but surprisingly caffeine.
Coffee is the first thing that people associate with instant energy on a groggy morning. “In the U.S., coffee is king of beverages” (Reinke) Research has been done that has named coffee as an addiction to the people who consume large quantities of it. Coffee was named the top source of antioxidants. This is partly because of the amount consumed each day. Some of the antioxidants that coffee has are quinines and chlorogenic acid. It also contains trigonelline, an antibacterial compound. This is where coffee acquires its delicious aroma. Now let’s step back for a minute and just think about how much caffeine people consume. In an 8oz cup of coffee it has about 85 milligrams of caffeine. This is about double the amount that tea contains. Studies have shown that caffeine stimulates the brain and nervous system. This is where you get that energized feeling. After about the third cup, knees start to bounce, pens are clicking and people start running laps around the office. Caffeine can become addicting if you drink too much. Coffee can become that addictive habit people are unable to shake.
It’s important to watch how much caffeine your body is receiving each day in the foods and drinks you consume. Caffeine is not a bad drug, but be careful to watch for symptoms of withdrawal and caffeine intoxication. It can be dangerous for your body if too much stress is put on it. Remember, there are always decaffeinated options and sometimes these are the best to keep your body healthy. Works Cited faculty.washington.edu/chudler/caff.html greenfacts.org/en/psychoactive-drugs wisegeek.com/what-is-caffeine.htm psych.umn.edu/courses/spring05/ / caffeine.
Open with Impact: How much coffee do you drink? How is that cup of coffee affecting your brain, thinking skills, alertness, sleep, and overall health?
Moreover, I learned that effecting even the smallest change in my lifestyle can be extremely difficult at first since breaking a habit is the first, but often the most challenging step. With this change did come certain repercussions, as well as benefits to my health. In the beginning, I drank less coffee in the morning in order to drink more water, this caused mild headaches for the first few weeks of the change, however, now that I do drink more water in place of other less-hydrating drinks, I have seen a steady decrease in the amount of headaches I drink. I even hope to return to my physician this summer and inquire whether I can be taken off my headache prevention medication. This realization has been the most exciting and rewarding aspect of this
There are many health benefits that come from drinking coffee. Coffee can overall make you a happier person. Drinking coffee can make a positive impact on your life. Does coffee really stunt your Growth? How does drinking coffee help in your day to day life? Coffee is loaded with antioxidants and beneficial nutrients that can improve your health. Studies show that coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of several serious diseases.