Is Coffee Addictive Like Drugs? Experts Weigh In
Many people feel that they would not be able to function without coffee. Can coffee lovers grow dependent on the beverage to the same extent as recreational drug users?
If true, then it could be way too late for the 80 percent of Americans who imbibe caffeine very day, according to the estimates of the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2007. Fortunately for them, most doctors don't consider caffeine addiction as a serious threat, even though the potential for dependence is there.
Dr. James Bibb of the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas explained back in 2002 the similarities between coffee, or caffeine in particular, and recreational drugs. "Caffeine is the most frequently self-administered drug in recreational use worldwide today," he said as quoted by Eurekalert.
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Even with the widespread intake of this substance, experts are still discovering how caffeine affects the brain, beyond the established findings. "We do know it is rewarding, can enhance cognition and performance, and induce dependence at the same time," Bibb added.
Caffeine wards off sleepiness and fatigue by blocking adenosine receptors. Without caffeine, adenosine does its job of signaling tiredness to the body, prompting someone to take a nap. With caffeine, adenosine is blocked off and alertness is maintained beyond normal, as explained by Clarity Way.
Not only does caffeine block the adenosine "tiredness" signal, it also works to stimulate the production of adrenaline, dopamine and other stimulants in the brain. These effects last for about four to six hours, depending on body size, age and other health factors.
As coffee lovers take in regular doses of caffeine, the body responds by adding more adenosine receptors to keep up its fatigue mechanisms. Then, when a person suddenly withholds caffeine from their body, these extra receptors might cause a "crash," leaving someone more tired and irritable than usual.
Even then, these changes in brain chemistry are still small compared to those caused by recreational drugs, as an expert from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes.
"The reality is that caffeine does not produce these compulsive patterns that you see with other drugs," Nora Volkow, a neurologist for NIDA, explains. The symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are so subtle that they are often mistaken for other illnesses, while the benefits of the wakefulness that coffee provides may more than make up for the occasional caffeine crash.
