Hello everyone! I hope you had a restful spring break and are
ready for some more good stuff about sleep disorders!
Before break, I talked about how caffeine affects the body
by taking up adenosine receptors and preventing adenosine from binding. This
week, I am going to talk about the effect caffeine has on neurotransmitters
like dopamine and adrenaline.
Let’s leave adrenaline for later and talk about dopamine
now. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for controlling emotions and motor
abilities. It also controls cognition and feelings like pleasure.
Caffeine causes an increase in the production of dopamine. This
elevates our moods, which results in an increase in brain activity and neuron
firing. When our brains generate a lot of electrical activity, it is harder for
us to fall asleep.
Researchers also consider dopamine the cause of caffeine
addiction. This is because some of the withdrawal symptoms of caffeine include
mild depression, irritability, and other emotional changes that dopamine is
responsible for.
Sorry for such a short first post this week. In my next one,
I’ll elaborate on the relationship between caffeine and the neurotransmitter
adrenaline.
Hi Shubhangi. I hope you had a restful break, but are enjoying being back to work!
ReplyDeleteWhen patients come to the institute, does the doctor ask about caffeinated drink consumption in the initial meeting? Is reducing the intake of these drinks part of the treatment plan? If so, do they recommend no caffeine at all or just a reduction?
- Ms. Holtzman
Hello Ms. Holtzman! I had a great break! I hope you enjoyed your spring break as well!
DeleteNormally, patients come to PNPI with complaints like snoring during sleep or headaches. First, the doctors ask about their symptoms. Then, they go into more detail about their sleep patterns and their diet. This is when they ask about caffeine. It is not really part of the treatment plan, but more a recommendation. If they are not regular caffeine drinker and have not developed the tolerance that I talked about (in my response to Sydney's comment), they are recommended to change the time they drink. For instance, as opposed to the evening, drink caffeine in the morning.
Hey Shubhangi! Daily coffee drinkers often say that caffeine no longer effects them, do you know what the biological cause for that is?
ReplyDeleteHey Sydney! When a person regularly drinks a caffeinated drink, they develop a tolerance for caffeine over time. Biologically, their brain change in structure.
DeleteFor instance, brain cells grow more adenosine receptors. This is an example of the brain's attempt to maintain equilibrium during caffeine consumption. More adenosine receptors means that it takes more caffeine molecules to achieve the same effect.
When we suddenly quit drinking coffee, we experience withdrawal symptoms. These include fatigue, headaches, and irritability.
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