Today's society is very used to leading a hectic life. Many people get up early every day to go to work or study, or even both. We spend many hours each day doing various tasks and it is normal for us to feel exhausted and wake up sleepy. A solution that the majority of the population resorts to is the consumption of coffee, that popular drink that helps us stay awake. But do you know how long caffeine lasts in the body?
In this post we will not only answer this question, but we will also discuss what exactly is this substance, what are its effects on the body and the risks associated with excessive consumption of it.
What is caffeine and what are its effects on our body?
Before talking about how long caffeine lasts in the body, we must first be clear about what it is and what its effects are on our body. Well, it is a substance that some plants have. Even so, it can also be produced synthetically to be added to various foods and, above all, to drinks. Caffeine is a diuretic and a CNS stimulant. (Central Nervous System). This means that it helps our body to eliminate liquids and that it activates/excites our brain, so to speak.
When it comes to ingesting caffeinated drinks, it passes rather quickly to the brain. It should be noted that this substance is not stored in the body nor does it accumulate in the bloodstream. Our body expels it through urine after a few hours after consumption. On a biological level, Our body has no nutritional requirements for caffeine. Therefore, it is not a fundamental substance in our diet, we can live perfectly without consuming it.
As we have already mentioned before, caffeine is a stimulant of the CNS, that is, of the brain. For this reason It is a good help to combat short-term drowsiness and fatigue. Contrary to what many people believe, drinks that contain this substance do not reduce the effects of alcohol on the body. So a cup of coffee isn't going to help a drunk person sober up.
Other effects that caffeine has on our body is the Increased blood pressure. For this reason, it is usually recommended that people with hypertension avoid the consumption of this substance. In addition, it can cause heartburn or upset stomach as it causes a greater release of acid inside the stomach. It can also be said that it can prevent the correct absorption of calcium.
How long does caffeine last in the body?
Now that we know a little more about this widely consumed substance around the world, let's see how long caffeine lasts in the body. After consuming a drink with this substance, the effects begin to appear after 15 to 45 minutes. However, it reaches the maximum effect usually after between 30 and 60 minutes. From that moment on, the level of caffeine in the blood and, consequently, its effects on our body gradually decrease until it disappears completely. This process usually takes between two and six hours.
It's a pretty big time slot, isn't it? Why so much difference? To fully understand the answer to how long caffeine lasts in the body, it must be taken into account that several factors influence including some genetics. One of the main responsible for the duration of this substance in the body is an enzyme, specifically a variant of CYP1A2, which is produced by the liver.
Apart from genetics, it can also influence the sex to which we belong. According to various studies conducted by scientists around the world, men block caffeine worse than women. In fact, they manage to do it three times more than them. Therefore, caffeine tends to have a much smaller effect on women than on men, overall.
As you can see, it is quite complicated to answer how long caffeine lasts in the body, since it depends on several factors. However, we can give some average times. For a cup of espresso, the average duration of its effect is 2 to 3 hours, but remember that the time varies depending on the sex and certain genetic traits.
Excess risks
Now that we know how long caffeine lasts in the body, let's look at what the side effects of consuming too much can be. Currently, it is very common to consume this type of substance in excess, even without realizing it. Coffee has become a fundamental drink in the lives of many people, but too much is not good for our body. For the majority of the population, drinking up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is not harmful, but more than that it can become a problem. These are some of the risks associated with excessive consumption of this substance:
- Insomnia
- interrupted sleep
- dizziness
- Headaches
- Restlessness
- Tremors
- fast heart rate
- Anxiety
- Dehydration
- Dependence
In the short term, the main problems that can appear are related to the CNS. Among them are anxiety, behavior changes, insomnia and interrupted sleep. As for the long term, the detrimental effects are usually cardiovascular problems. In the case of pregnant women, they may suffer a delay in the growth and development of the fetus. It should be noted that not all people are equally sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Some may notice them more than others and vice versa.
I hope that with all this information about this substance it has become clear to you how long caffeine lasts in the body and what its effects are. It does not have to be bad for our body, but we must be careful not to drink too much caffeine so as not to end up with the problems that we have mentioned above. Like almost everything, excessive consumption of this substance is not good and, in case of dependence, we can even suffer withdrawal symptoms if we do not take it.