Introduction
When you ingest and metabolize caffeine into your body, you are setting up a cause and effect situation, the result of which makes you more alert and makes it harder for you to sleep. Using this cause and effect essay, I intend to explain how this occurs in layman’s terms.
Cause
Cause – You ingest the caffeine
It is most commonly ingested via a liquid, but you may also buy caffeine pills and there are certain edible items that have caffeine in them. Taurine is commonly mistaken for caffeine; however, taurine is more likely to be excreted more quickly via the kidneys, meaning that it is not as much of a stimulant as caffeine. It is also possible and more likely that you will have a caffeine crash, whereas it is harder to have a taurine crash. A crash in this sense is when you “come down” from the stimulant drug and your body instigates the opposite of its effects, ergo making you sleepy and lethargic.
Effects
Effect number one – your body turns the caffeine into adrenaline
This is not exactly what happens, but it is the eventual effect of ingesting caffeine. The caffeine is used by the body to metabolize the calcium in the ingesting person’s blood. The calcium and caffeine stimulate the production of adrenaline.
People who have broken a bone are often encouraged to take vitamin D and calcium pills. This often results in the person getting a big “buzz” from caffeine. If the person uses too much caffeine and does not compensate with a lot of calcium pills, then the body will start to metabolize bone, giving the heavy caffeine user weaker bones.
Effect number two – the adrenaline causes the affects commonly associated with caffeine
The adrenaline in the system is the effect of the calcium and caffeine metabolization. The adrenaline then goes on to cause all of the symptoms commonly associated with caffeine ingesting. It causes people to become more alert to the point of being giddy. It may make a person’s attention span wander from tasks where the person has to concentrate. However, if that same person is tired then it is often easier to work on harder and more mundane tasks if a person is alert and chipper as oppose to tired.
The adrenaline may also cause irritability or a feeling of nervousness. A person may shake or tremble in some cases, but in most cases becomes restless. It is often harder to sleep whilst on this adrenaline high. A persons endurance levels will go up too, especially if the endurance is physical.
Conclusion
The cause starts with caffeine ingestion, which is metabolized into adrenaline, which is what causes the alert and restless symptoms commonly associated with caffeine ingestion. The process is rather more complex on a biochemical level, but that is the basic result. Things such as amphetamines are harder to remove from the system and have a more potent effect of a person’s biochemistry and homeostasis. Sadly, amphetamines often cause a permanent shift in a person’s biochemistry to the point where they need high doses of stimulants in order to function with day-to-day tasks.
