Blog Post #5 -> Why is caffeine so addicting?

Hi everyone, this is my last blog post, and I will be explaining my last sub question, why is caffeine so addicting! Caffeine is something many people rely on in the morning, and during the day, it ensures that some get energy in order to do their daily activities, and also allows for people to enjoy a drink in the morning.

Caffeine has a stimulate dopaminergic activity within it, and it causes the negative modulatory effect of adenosine to be removed, making the dopamine receptors more stronger (1). This means that the dopamine release that is caused by the accumbens shell causes a neuropharmacological mechanism underlying the addictions that caffeine has for a person because of the short-term dopamine rush it gives people (1).

Dopamine is a hormone within the body that makes you feel good, and overtime when you drink lots of caffeine, especially some everyday, your body becomes used to the extra level of dopamine being added to your body, it gives people an addictive feeling (2). Another reason why we are so addicted to coffee, or someone can become very addicted to caffeine is because it is very normalised within society (2). This is an addiction that is not stigmatised or marked as bad, because it is so normalised which causes people to a) not want to quit because no one is warning people to quit caffeine and b) to keep drinking it and to experiment more because caffeine is just more than coffee and energy drinks (2).

Now because caffeine addictions are so normalised by society, they have become very uncommon to talk about because it is “normal” for everyone to have a caffeine addiction; however, having a coffee addiction can have very negative effects on your health and social interactions, as well as other areas of your life (3). Coffee addiction cause physical dependance on the chemical, this itself can cause to chemical changes in the brain, so it is important that coffee usage, or any caffeinated drink usage is regulated because even though it has become very normalised, it can become very dangerous and damaging towards the person and their body (3).

Social media has as mentioned above been a large cause of keeping the caffeine addiction, normalised , and why more people who are captivated by their phones and social media are more likely to drink caffeine than those who are not (4). A research conducted by WHO and CTV stated that people who are addicted to their phones were linked to an increase risk of not only exceeding caffeine recommendation amounts, (most caffeine drinkers drink 28% more caffeine than the recommended amount, making them at risk fo many things, including heart failure, which many of us have seen online form articles stating how energy drinks have killed people (4).

This is not only bad for every, but students and youth especially (5). Social media has made it normal to drink 3-4 energy drinks and coffee within 1 day, when the recommended amount is only 1 can of an energy drink (which is advised on the cans as well), but this goes to show that students and teens do not care about that, and because on social media it has been seen to be normal, and peoples favourite creators are drinking 3-4 cans of energy drinks everyday, they also believe they can do the same (5). Students in school have become overrelient on caffeine, meaning that instead of sleeping on a school night, they will drink an energy drink and stay up to do their work because they are tired without it; or students will simply drink it for the taste, and about the fact that everyone else is drinking it so “I should drink it too” (5). This has become a dangerous mindset because caffeine especially energy drinks can harm students quicker because they have more risks so it is important to not normalise over-drinking them, and to just stick to the recommended amount (5)!

Thank you for reading my last blog post research on this topic! Hope to see you next time!!!

(1) MSc, E. H. B., MA PhD. (2023, August 16). Caffeine addiction symptoms and withdrawal. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/caffeine-addiction-4157287#:~:text=Caffeine%20addiction%20is%20the%20excessive,chemical%20changes%20in%20the%20brain.

(2) What to know about craving coffee. (2024, February 25). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-craving-coffee

(3) Meredith, S. E., Juliano, L. M., Hughes, J. R., & Griffiths, R. R. (2013). Caffeine Use Disorder: A Comprehensive Review and Research agenda. Journal of Caffeine Research, 3(3), 114–130. https://doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2013.0016

(4) Phone, TV, social media use tied to more sugar and caffeine in teens. (2019, October 22). CTVNews. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/phone-tv-social-media-use-tied-to-more-sugar-and-caffeine-in-teens-1.4650477#:~:text=They%20were%20also%20at%20a,added%20sugar%20and%20caffeine%20recommendations.

(5) Gowda, V. (2024, January 29). Column: College students have an unhealthy relationship with caffeine. Column: College Students Have an Unhealthy Relationship With Caffeine – the Daily Gamecock at University of South Carolina. https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2024/01/column-college-students-have-an-unhealthy-relationship-with-caffeine-opinion-gowda#:~:text=Young%20adults%20have%20been%20normalizing,health%20benefits%20when%20consumed%20properly.