Coffee and caffeine-containing product use across the world has been increasing. The
underlying motivation behind this is that many people have understood caffeine physical and
memory performance enhancement product. In some cases, it is also perceived as a hazard to
people’s mental and physical health. Caffeine can be considered a health hazard since it leads to
sleep disruption, slowed thinking, decreased motivation and alertness and further exposing one to
the risks of severe health complications such as rapid heart rate and high blood pressure, which
all can have effects such as stress and anxiety on an individual.
According to Bradberry (2017), caffeine can be considered a silent killer since it exposes
an individual to the inability to manage moods and emotions to the flight energy or adrenaline
released out of its intake. Intake of caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline, which makes the
body more awake. When one is irritable, it becomes uncontrollable to overrun individual
behaviors. This is an indicator that caffeine can never be considered an enhancer but a
psychoactive drug.
Caffeine, just like other stimulants, has disruptive effects on sleep patterns (O’Callaghan
et al., 2018). Many people have always associated caffeine with benefits such as disruption of
sleep and increased alertness levels, but this should not be deemed as normal. Sleep is an
important aspect that helps the brain in regeneration and keeps an individual fit for future
activities. Sleep deprivation has some adverse effects on the wellbeing of humans, and especially
on human cognitive processes. Medical doctors and other health experts have recommended that
an adult should sleep for eight hours a day for healthy living. Sleep enhances human productivity
and concentration. Therefore, disrupting sleep patterns through the use of stimulants such as
caffeine can lower cognitive thinking and concentration processes (O’Callaghan et al., 2018).
EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS 3
Further, sleep is an important element of relaxing. Relaxation is a powerful aspect that helps the
brain lower aggression levels by fostering regeneration, thus becoming essential to an
individual's mental and physical wellbeing. Consumption of caffeine, whether in coffee or other
caffeine-containing products, can reduce one's hours of sleep, and these effects of sleep
deprivation can be quite severe in older adults who need to have their brain relaxed. Boosting the
human brain requires one to abstain from caffeine since it can cause disruptions in the patterns of
sleep, affecting the psychological wellbeing of an individual.
In addition, caffeine has physiological effects such as rapid heart rate and high blood
pressure that can expose one to stress and anxiety. Clinically, it has been established that caffeine
has effects on cardiac rhythms and increased metabolic rates, thus forcing the human body to
function abnormally (Mucci et al., 2016). How human bodies function and their wellness also
affects their mental state. If the body is unwell, one is likely to fall into stress and effects of
mood fluctuation. Due to fears, one can find oneself falling into severe health complications such
as chronic anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions that can compromise one's
attitudes, behaviors and, to a greater extent, affect one's personality (Richards and Smith, 2015).
The fact that caffeine fuels anxiety that can consequently cause depression and other adverse
health conditions should make people abandon it in their lifestyle. Depression and anxiety can
have different implications for different groups of people. In school-going children, it can lead to
lower academic achievements and reduced concentration levels. Such an aspect can compromise
patterns of interaction and interrelationships among people, thus reducing the quality of human
life. Therefore, it can be better if people would abandon caffeine and caffeine-containing
products for healthy living.
EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS 4
In conclusion, it is evident that caffeine is a hazard to both the physical and mental health
of an individual since it exposes one to sleep disruption, decreased motivation, and mood
fluctuation, which can affect cognitive processes and the functioning of the brain. Even though
some people can feel that caffeine makes an individual stay awake and therefore can increase
productivity levels, one can note that the adverse effects outweigh the positive implications.
People should seek help to overcome caffeine addiction since it can expose them to adverse
health complications.
References
Bradberry, T. (2017). Caffeine: The Silent Killer of Success. Huffpost.com. Retrieved 22
December 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/caffeine-the-silent-
kille_b_6179708.
Mucci, N., Giorgi, G., De Pasquale Ceratti, S., Fiz-Pérez, J., Mucci, F., & Arcangeli, G. (2016).
Anxiety, stress-related factors, and blood pressure in young adults. Frontiers in
Psychology, 7, 1682.
O’Callaghan, F., Muurlink, O., & Reid, N. (2018). Effects of caffeine on sleep quality and
daytime functioning. Risk management and healthcare policy, 11, 263.
Richards, G., & Smith, A. (2015). Caffeine consumption and self-assessed stress, anxiety, and
depression in secondary school children. Journal of psychopharmacology, 29(12), 1236-
1247.