What does caffeine do in your body?

Do you know that feeling? You wake up and in bed you already think about how your first cup of coffee will taste? I usually opt for a filter roast that I make with my Hario V60.

My mouth is already watering. After grinding the coffee beans, the whole kitchen smells of what is to come.

The first sip, hmmm, I am immediately awake and alert. This is how you want to wake up every day.

But where does that invigorating effect that the coffee has come from? Yes, of course, caffeine, but what does caffeine do in your body?

What is Caffeine?

To understand what caffeine does to your body, I want to take a step back first. What exactly is caffeine?

Caffeine is a white and naturally somewhat bitter substance that occurs in various plants and crops. Including the coffee plant. The caffeine in the coffee plant protects it against insects and pesticides.

So actually a very useful and valuable substance.

Caffeine is a stimulant that increases activity in your brain and nervous system. In addition, it causes an increase in cortisol and adrenaline in your body.

In small amounts, caffeine makes you feel fresh and focused. However, if you ingest too much of this substance, it can make you anxious and make sleeping difficult.

Read also: Is coffee good for your health?

What does caffeine do in your body?

Caffeine is very well absorbed by the human body, so you will experience the effects in a very short time, usually within three to twenty-five minutes after drinking a cup of coffee, for example.

Think of effects such as an increase in breathing and heart rate and an increase in mental alertness and energy.

Depending on the person, these effects can last up to 12 hours.

There is also such a thing as too much caffeine. These are some of the symptoms you may experience when you've had too much caffeine.

• Frequent need to go to the toilet
• Dehydration symptoms
• Palpitations
• Fears
• Can not sleep
• Shaking hands

How much caffeine is too much?

How your body responds to caffeine depends on your body weight, metabolism and overall health. It also depends on whether you regularly consume caffeine and how much you consume at a time.

Research shows that a dose of up to 400mg per day is acceptable. Per cup of coffee you get about 80 to 200 mg of caffeine based on an amount of 250 ml of brewed coffee.

So a maximum of 2 cups of coffee?!

In order not to suffer too much from the side effects, 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day is really what you should drink at the most.

Of course, you build up a tolerance to caffeine and can take a little more in practice.

But to prevent these risks and especially to enjoy the positive health benefits of coffee, it is good to stick to this maximum.

I myself prefer to drink two or 3 very good cups of specialty coffee instead of 10 bad cups of coffee.