Caffeine is a stimulant of the nervous system. It ‘wakes us up’ and makes us more active, at least temporarily. The health effects of caffeine are far more than we know about.

Caffeine affects our body both positively and negatively.

Positive health effects of caffeine

• Caffeine helps you keep active in the day. It can drive away laziness and helps you concentrate on work.
• Caffeine helps you improve your mood. Caffeine has been associated with increased release of dopamine, which is the hormone responsible for feeling pleasure.
• Caffeine has been also found to improve physical endurance. It helps you do physical work with more intensity and for a longer time.
• Caffeine is also a mild analgesic. It helps relieve pain. It is especially effective in relieving headache.
• People who take caffeine have been found to have less risk of getting Parkinson’s disease than people who do not take caffeine.

Negative health effects of caffeine

• Taking caffeine seems to decrease bone density by taking out calcium from bones. This increases the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women.
• Immediately after taking caffeine, the blood sugar level increases quite sharply. After some time, it falls sharply. These fluctuations in blood sugar will be difficult to handle for diabetics.
• Caffeine is addictive. If you are a regular caffeine user and stop caffeine, you are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms.
• Taking caffeine after 2 p.m may affect your sleep pattern.
• Caffeine has also been associated with infertility and miscarriage.
• Over dose of caffeine will result in nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, depression and other similar conditions.

Effects of caffeine that increase blood pressure

Caffeine also has an effect on blood pressure. Drinking two to three cups of coffee will result in an increase of 3 – 14 mm of hg systolic pressure and 4 – 13 mm of hg diastolic pressure.

In people who do not regularly drink caffeine, the raise in blood pressure will be sharper.

The reason for the increase in blood pressure is not exactly known. Some experts say that caffeine acts on hormones which keep the blood vessels wide, resulting in the thinning of blood vessels temporarily.

Studies on long term effects of caffeine on blood pressure have shown contradictory results.