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LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review – Draft 1

Supraja Srikanth

St. George’s University

Communications for the Health Profession I

Marie’s Cohort

14 November 2019
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LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review

Caffeine, a word that we are all quite familiar with, is a stimulant and one of the most

commonly used modes of a drug in the world. It occurs naturally in the leaves, seeds, or fruit of

more than 60 plant species. Caffeine is found in a number of essential drinks like coffee, tea,

cola, energy drinks and other products like chocolates, gum, jellybeans, waffles, syrups,

marshmallows, sunflower seeds. Every day, millions consume caffeine in different forms, to

increase wakefulness, relieve weakness, and improve attention and focus. Believing drinking

coffee increases productivity is an actual myth. Caffeine blocks the receptors in the brain,

causing temporary awakenings, but has nothing to do with productivity and the health risks

associated with overconsumption is larger.

Caffeine is known to affect productivity. It doesn't increase productivity. Taylor Et al.,

(2017) states that adenosine is produced by neurons throughout the day, and as more of it are

produced, the more your nervous system is known to fluctuate up and down. The reason we feel

sleepy is that the adenosine reaches a specific level, and that makes you tired, putting you to

sleep. If caffeine comes in, it causes a complete change. When there is an intake of caffeine, it

efficiently blocks the adenosine intake by entering the A1 receptor but does not activate it. Next,

the chemical dopamine circulates more quickly, along with glutamate to provide energy. This is

the reason why there is a sudden boost in energy. But due to this, there are side effects like

constriction of the brain's blood vessels because it blocks adenosine's capability to open them up.

Cornelis et al., (2019) reported on the results from a population-based whole-blood gene

expression analysis. That analysis of coffee consumption that pointed to metabolic, immune, and

inflammation pathways. It was also stated that coffee intake led to lower levels of specific
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lysophosphatidylcholines. These two reports provide confirmatory insight into mechanisms by

which coffee might be impacting health and further demonstrate how it has nothing to do with

productivity.

Consumption of caffeine differs from person to person depending on their profession.

Few researchers focused on a large teaching hospital in Switzerland, (Olson et al., 2015) where

doctors’ coffee consumption was tracked daily over 12 months. But consumption varied

significantly between specialties. It is noticed that surgeons drank distinctly more coffee than

physicians, while anesthesiologists drank the least amount. Medicine as such is the most

tiresome profession and to be up and working, a doctor would drink way too much caffeine. This

tells us that more the person is under stress, the more is the amount of caffeine consumed.

According to researchers, doctors don't drink coffee for the taste or the fun of it, but instead to

make their brain running and keeping them active. Caffeine allows a person to push through long

shifts. Tannous, Kalash (2010) conducted a study on students from the University of North

Lebanon. The research proved that University students are exposed to academic stress due to a

large number of academic contents. As a result of the overwhelming pressure that they are under,

the only way students manage to cope is by drinking as many caffeinated beverages possible.

This explains the reason for the high consumption of caffeinated beverages by university

students.

Despite all the stories and disagreements about whether caffeine is beneficial or harmful

for us, evidence and studies imply that moderate caffeine consumption can bring both advantages

and hazards. As such coffee is known to have a handful of health benefits. A 75-mg serving of

caffeine is known to increase attention, improve mental alertness, speed reasoning, develops

memory power and there is a sudden hike of energy. It’s filled with antioxidants, it reduces the
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risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, it helps combat Type II diabetes, and it’s great for

the liver (Martin et al., 2014). Nichols et al., (2017) talks about caffeine increasing sports

performance. In addition, he says coffee consumption may help minimize the risk of cirrhosis

and decrease the rate of disease progression in hepatitis c infection. Olson et al. (2015) states that

those who drank more caffeine have a lower risk of acquiring kidney stones. There were higher

chances for people who drank low or no coffee to be likely to get a stroke.

Even with so many benefits, some studies highlight the potentially damaging effects of

caffeine. The first and foremost risk associated with it is addiction. The United States

Department of Human Health and Welfare said there was a 39% increase in the number of

people addicted to caffeine since 2018. If someone stops drinking caffeine all of a sudden, then

that leads to withdrawal syndrome, the abrupt halt of consumption. Additionally, Olson et al.

(2015) says that coffee elevates blood pressure, arouses the heart, and can produce rapid

depthless breathing, which ultimately seizes the brain of the oxygen it needs to keep you thinking

calm and stable. One of the main components of energy drinks is taurine. Gomar, Galeano,

Lippi, Earnest (2015) indicate that taurine is an amino acid that exerts several physiological

roles, including cell volume regulation and inhibitory neuromodulation. It was also evaluated as

a potential pharmacologic agent in many pathologic states. Serious opposing effects have been

reported when consumed in more substantial doses, especially in children, adolescents, and

young adults with anxiety, seizures, agitation, migraines, sleeplessness, dehydration,

gastrointestinal problems, arrhythmias, and other cardiac events. Pollak and Bright (2003) tell us

that analysis was done on a group of teenagers to find out about their sleep schedule when they

had caffeine at least once a day. From this research, it was obvious that caffeine use disrupted the

circadian rhythm. Regardless of whether caffeine use disturbed the sleep or was consumed to
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counteract the daytime effect of interrupted sleep, caffeinated beverages had detectable

pharmacologic effects. That last and the most adverse, irreversible side effect is death. Caffeine

overdose can cause other serious problems like cardiac arrest, fast or uneven heartbeat, high

blood pressure, headaches, nervousness or anxiety, dizziness, dehydration.

Caffeine drinking is a dangerous trend that influences the entire society, particularly its

young citizens. It is clear that drinking coffee helps push through long shifts and heavy loads of

work, but it has nothing to do with productivity. The amount of consumption of coffee varies

from one individual to another and it is based on one's lifestyle, the kind of work they do, the

amount of stress they are under. A proper amount of caffeine has a lot of health benefits, but the

disadvantages clearly outweigh the advantages. The risks mask the benefits, just like how

caffeine masks drowsiness.

References

Nichols, H. (2017, October 16th) What does caffeine do to your body? Retrieved from:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/285194.php

Martin, A. (2014, June 2nd) How coffee affects your productivity Retrieved from:

https://doist.com/blog/coffee-actually-affects-productivity/#comment-1706623661

Olson, S. (2015, December 29th)

Caffeine high: Your doctor probably drinks too much caffeine, and it’s affecting your

health Retrieved from: https://www.medicaldaily.com/heres-what-you-need-know-about-

gut-health-443884

Sanchis, F., Galeano, H., Cervellin, G., Lippi, G., Earnest, C. (May 2015)

Energy Drink Overconsumption in Adolescents: Implications for Arrhythmias and Other

Cardiovascular Events Retrieved from: https://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-

282X(14)01667-5/abstract

Cornelis, M. (Feb 11th, 2019) The Impact of Caffeine and Coffee on Human Health

Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413001/

Pollak, P., Bright, D. (Jan 2003) Caffeine Consumption and Weekly Sleep Patterns in US Seventh-,

Eighth-, and Ninth- Graders

Retrieved from: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/111/1/42.short

Tannous, M., Kalash, Y. (2010) Prevalence of Caffeinated-beverage Consumption by University

Students in North Lebanon Retrieved from:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b3dc/d0ac4465fea6a54d333cda19eb300863ca4a.pdf