You are absolutely right to say that coffee makes you awake. But why is that the case? It is important to get more information about our favorite subject: sleep to understand why that happens. All animals need rest to keep themselves fit. However, it is humans that cannot get adequate sleep as they want.
They feel tired during the day or have a lot of work to perform. To become alert, they resort to drinking coffee as it contains caffeine, a chemical stimulant that triggers changes in the human body.
Caffeine has the property to make humans feel excited and happy. It can even make you a little sick or jittery. These reactions can be traced back to our central nervous system, where our nerve cells communicate with different chemicals or molecules. This makes our body think, feel, and sense our day-to-day world.
Before we move ahead with answering the question: How coffee makes you awake, it is important to learn the history of coffee. Visit Brewed Coffee Guide site for more info
The backstory of how coffee was conceived?
Today coffee has become an indispensable beverage in the modern era. It has also become a reliable ally that helps you perform various activities during the day.
During the 11th century, the coffee plant was discovered in Ethiopia. The plant had a white blossom that smelled like jasmine and red, cherry-like fruit. During that period, the plants were termed magical fruit. They were boiled in water, and the effect was considered medicinal properties. With time, as more people got to learn about the coffee plant, its voyage across the globe began.
Coffee swiftly spread through the Arabian Peninsula. It was in the mid-14th century when coffee cultivation got to Yemen. It was drunk for the next 300 years using the same recipe first used in Ethiopia. Yemen’s climate and fertile soil were ideal for cultivating rich coffee harvests.
The composition of coffee
Coffee consists of 1500 chemicals. These chemicals can be found in varying capacities in coffee.
Its composition includes:
- 56 Carbonyl compounds
- 9 Sulfur-containing compounds
- 150 Aliphatic compounds
- 20 Alicyclic compounds
- 10 Ketones
- 60 Aromatic benzenoid compounds
- 16 Phenols
- 300 Heterocyclic compounds
- 3 Indoles
- 10 Quinoxalines
- 23 Thiophenes
- 3 Thiophenones
- 28 Thiazoles
- 28 Oxazole
Coffee consists of large amounts of compounds. Approximately 800-1000 aroma compounds caffeine, chlorogenic acids, melanoidins, volatile compounds, and lipids.
So, how do you make caffeine? Look at a guide to make a coffee. The upcoming sections highlight various details about coffee to help you gain better insight.
If you are considering a new gadget for your coffee-making, an essential part of a coffee brewing ensemble is a good grinder. But they can be expensive sometimes, so can you use spice grinder instead of coffee grinder?
How does our body make molecules?
Every day our body produces a chemical known as adenosine. This chemical slows down our brain cells and makes us feel unconscious. Then this chemical aids in sending a signal to our body when we need to sleep that assists in recharging our body.
You feel tired because the adenosine molecules you created reach the part of your nerve cells known as receptors. You can consider a receptor to be like a keyhole. Adenosine is like a key, and it can unlock your sleep patterns. However, there are times when a phony molecule comes along.
How does coffee trick your brain and body?
Your neurons think of the caffeine molecules like the adenosine molecule. You can get more information from the guide we have hyperlinked in this write-up earlier.
You do not feel tired when you have caffeine because caffeine has the properties to block the adenosine from getting to your cells and making them feel sleepy. Caffeine makes us feel temporary that we need to be awake. It also has lots of other side effects. It might make you feel nervous, you may find it difficult to breathe, or your heart may beat at a faster rate.
This is the reason due to which certain headache medicines like Anacin consist of caffeine. In case you have a vascular headache, the caffeine will close down the blood vessels and relieve you.
With the caffeine blocking the adenosine, the neuron firing increases in your brain. The pituitary gland oversees all the activities and perceives an emergency might be happening. Hence, it releases hormones that inform the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline. Adrenaline fights hormones and has certain side effects on your body.
Everything you want to know about caffeine
You might be surprised to know this: Humans are not alone when it comes to feeling the effects of caffeine. Certain scientists have studied how some bees acquire caffeine from the nectar in flowers. This way, we can see that we can search for caffeine in plants and even make some in the lab!
Historically speaking, humans have been fond of caffeine. But, about 200 years ago, a scientist called Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge studied this chemical closely. He found that caffeine is a molecule that consists of building blocks or atoms like hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon.
When these elements are organized into the molecule caffeine, it tricks our body. So, even if you are craving to sleep, it gives you the feeling of being wide awake.
