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What goes on in your body when you drink caffeine? Learn how to take advantage of caffeine's powerful neural effects for boosting your productivity.
Medical Disclaimer: While we do our best to provide you researched-backed information, our articles are just that: informational. Our team consists of members passionate about fitness and wellness, but no doctors at this time. Therefore this article can not and should not be considered medical advice, and we cannot be a judge of whether or not the outlined strategies are the best choice for you. Consult a healthcare provider before adding supplements to your daily routine.
CONTENT
Performance Benefits of Caffeine
Alertness
Motivation and Reinforcement
Focus and Productivity
When to drink caffeine
When NOT to drink caffeine
Dosage Limits
Supplemental Advice
Introduction
Everyone (almost) drinks caffeine in one form or another throughout the day: it's in coffee, tea, soda, and all of your favorite energy drinks. However, are you getting all the potential benefits from your daily dose? Explore the research on how to get the most ourt of your daily cup of joe.
This article is broken down into two sections: performance benefit and optimal caffeine routine. The first part will detail the benefits of caffeine usage and how it impacts the body. The second will detail how to use caffeine to get the most benefit from it. Happy reading!
Performance Benefits of Caffeine
Caffeine has significant benefits for both mental and physical efficiency, and numerous studies have found that caffeine has a positive impact on performance. Let's get into it!
Alertness
It is surely no surprise that caffeine has stimulative properties. For many people, it is the only way to get up in the morning. This is a result of caffeine's adenosine-antagonism. It acts as a blocker that prevents adenosine from binding to neurons in the brain.
Adenosine is a molecule that builds up in our body throughout the day. It makes us feel sleepy/drowsy so that at night we are ready to sleep. Sleeping is the only way to get rid of adenosine, but caffeine can block the receptors in the brain so that we do not feel the effects of the neurotransmitter until 8-10 hours later. By blocking adenosine from binding to neurons, caffeine makes us more alert and immune to the drowsy nature of adenosine.
Motivation and Reinforcement
Caffeine also serves as an agent for increasing motivation and reinforcing habits. Dopamine is the primary neurotransmitter that drives our motivation. Caffeine increases the bioavailability of dopamine so that we feel more motivated to complete tasks and be productive.
Additionally, caffeine increases the number of dopamine receptors in the brain. This means that any other activity that drives the release of dopamine (exercise) feels more rewarding. This makes caffeine a reinforcing agent that can make it easier to develop habits. This makes caffeine the ideal tool for creating a consistently better lifestyle and work output.
Focus and Productivity
While increased alertness and motivation also increase productivity, there is a third benefit to consider. Caffeine also stimulates the release of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This molecule increases the brain's overall mental agility: memory, learning, and critical thinking. This is what helps you feel mentally stronger in addition to more alert and motivated. This molecular synergy allows us to do more, difficult work with the aid of caffeine. This boost in performance has been studied for several years and comes back positive time and time again.
Optimal Caffeine Routine
Over the course of dozens of research studies there have been many interesting results that show how to make caffeine more beneficial. We recommend learning about the "optimal" routine that maximizes benefit, then making a decision about what fits your routine.
When to drink caffeine
The best, research-backed routine for caffeine usage can have a significant improvement in the beneficial effects of caffeine. This routine makes it a tool for individuals to build habits and selectively improve their performance.
Caffeine has heightened effects on non-habitual users. So following a routine of caffeine usage every other day can increase its potency. Drinking caffeine directly after waking will eliminate drowsiness, but it may also limit the release of cortisol in the mornings which is meant to naturally raise your alertness. Delaying the use of caffeine for 60-120 minutes AFTER waking up can heighten overall alertness by taking advantage both natural and supplemental stimulants. Caffeine has benefits for memory, learning, and mental agility; drinking caffeine directly before beginning work will maximize the amount of time you are able to take advantage of these benefits. Finally, caffeine's direct effects usually last for 4-8 hours. If you need to work for a longer duration, having more caffeine after 4-6 hours will allow you to continue experiencing the benefits without overdoing it. However, make sure the second drink is not within 10 hours of when you plan on going to sleep.
When NOT to drink caffeine
While caffeine has many benefits, it is important to know about long-term effects that can negatively impact performance. By avoiding misuse, we can safely take advantage of all the benefits caffeine has the ability to provide.
Most importantly, caffeine can have a negative effect on sleep quality. Despite being a stimulant, it does not directly impact your ability to fall asleep. However, it can lower the amount of REM sleep you are able to get each night. While happening only occasionally there is little harm, habitual use of caffeine too close to sleep can compound quickly. Poor quality sleep increases the adenosine baseline in your body, making you more drowsy and encouraging further caffeine use. To avoid this negative effect, is is important to avoid caffeine use 8-10 hours before going to sleep.
Additionally, it is important to pay attention to your body's reaction to caffeine intake. At a certain level, caffeine will begin to cause increased jitteriness and anxiety. To avoid this it is important to monitor how much caffeine you are drinking each day. Additionally, being aware that your caffeine tolerance can fluctuate based on meals, sleep, and other stressful elements.
Dosage Limits
As caffeine has grown in popularity, there have been questions raised about what the appropriate serving size is for optimal benefits. It is a careful balance as too little has no effect on performance, but too much has been linked to jitteriness and increased anxiety. Caffeine tolerance is typically determined by body weight and tolerance. The optimal serving size for caffeine is between 1-3mg per kg of bodyweight per sitting. This range will produce benefits while minimizing any negative effects.
Kilograms | 45 | 57 | 68 | 80 | 90 |
Lbs | 100 | 125 | 150 | 175 | 200+ |
Caffeine | 45-135 mg | 57-170 mg | 70-200 mg | 80-240 mg | 90-270 mg |
Additionally, there are daily limits that should be considered. The FDA recommends no more than 400mg of caffeine, and there are many who believe the limit is closer to 800mg. This discrepancy is likely within the timeframe of ingestion. While your intake should not exceed 400mg, caffeine ingested at 8am has depleted by 4pm when some individuals may be having a new round of caffeine. While this is detrimental to sleep, it is within the "safe" limits proposed by the FDA.
Supplemental Tips
For some individuals, caffeine will induce jitteriness at any dosage. If you would like to take advantage of the focus and productivity benefits of caffeine use, L-Theanine is a supplement that helps to calm nerves and prevent overstimulation. This helps individuals who are more sensitive to caffeine take advantage of the focus and productivity benefits without the jitteriness and anxiety.
Second, caffeine acts as a dehydrating agent in the body. It is important to remember to hydrate between/with caffeine use. It is also better to drink coffee with a full meal instead of an empty stomach. On an empty stomach, coffee can raise acidity levels and will increase the likelihood of negative effects such as anxiety and restlessness.
Conclusion
Caffeine can be a powerful tool for increasing productivity and performance in most individuals. By learning how to set a routine for caffeine intake, we can take advantage of its potent physical and mental benefits. Additionally, it can be a strong reinforcement agent when trying to develop new habits. However, given its growing prevalence in different drinks and higher dosages, it is important to be aware of the negative effects of overconsumption. Learn more about specific research in our other caffeine-based articles here.
A lot of the information in this article is based on research and advice from "Huberman Lab" podcast. It is a great resource for taking advantage of medical research in your everyday life.
Sources
Huberman, Andrew. “Using Caffeine to Optimize Mental & Physical Performance.” Huberman Lab, Scicomm Media, 4 Dec. 2022, www.hubermanlab.com/episode/using-caffeine-to-optimize-mental-and-physical-performance.
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