Does Caffeine Actually Increase The Production Of Dopamine, Or Does It Just Enhance The Dopamine Already In Your System?

As a casual coffee drinker myself, I always wonder what caffeine is actually doing to my brain. Why do I feel so great when I drink it? Sure enough, it’s partially because of dopamine. Does the brain start producing more dopamine, or does it just take longer for it to be reabsorbed, or both?

Caffeine does not interact with dopamine production directly
Caffeine doesn’t interact with dopamine production directly. It is just our brain telling us that it enjoys the coffee. It works by blocking certain receptors in our brain that tell your body to become tired.

When your cells need energy, they break down ATP molecules, which release energy and a few byproducts, including Adenosine. Over time Adenosine builds up and binds to its specific receptor telling the body to become tired. It gets cleared away, but this is usually slower than it’s created. As it accumulates you feel more and more tired, but when you sleep the enzyme that clears it out can catch up. Caffeine binds to the same receptor as Adenosine. However, it doesn’t activate it, so you don’t feel sleepy. It also makes it easier for the enzyme to clear out the Adenosine.

So how is it that we can drink coffee all day and still get tired/sleep?

Well, the answer is that different people will clear both the caffeine faster and/or upregulate adenosine receptors as they adapt to the new environment so caffeine doesn’t work as well.

It’s all individual variation.

You feel drowsy because your brain has a rebound effect. The adenosine receptors have increased to counteract the blockage of the receptors, this means after a while, you have more adenosine receptors than baseline. Eventually, the adenosine can bind to more receptors making you feel more tired than normal. This is known as a caffeine crash

All in all, caffeine doesn’t perk you up, it just makes you feel less tired. Coffee should be consumed in moderation!

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