I found the Addictions and Addictive Behavior slides to be the most interesting from those provided in the course. I have always
been aware that caffeine was addicting, but I personally do not drink coffee or any of those other caffeinated beverages so I
decided to do some more research on this topic in order to have a better understanding. I quickly learned that caffeine is
the world's most popular drug. Caffeine produces heightened activity in the brain. Caffeine crashes adenosine receptors which blocks the normal guests, adenosine from doing its job. Adenosine is responsible for slowing down nerve activity in the brain which gives us the cue to calm down and to take a nap. Those effects trickle down to theobromine which increases flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain, paraxanthine which increases athletic performance, and theophylline which increases heart rate and ability to concentrate. These effects come together to produce a state of wakefulness. Too much caffeine could turn sour pretty quickly. At a higher dosage, caffeine is known to cause the jitters, anxiety and just general all around discomfort. The safest average dose of caffeine per day for adults is 400mg, which is around three 8oz of coffee, five 8oz red bulls, or eight 8oz cups of black tea. Scientists reported that caffeine can become toxic around 10 grams which can also be viewed as 180 cups of coffee. After reading more into this topic, I am definitely thankful that I have yet to develop a caffeine addiction!
Sincerely,
Rachel Ziegler
I never got into coffee because I would always see how addicting it could be. Only recently I tried coffee and definitely see how it can wake someone up and make them more productive , however I can totally see how people get hooked on to it.
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