CAFFEINE

Caffeine and its Effects on Memory

Caffeine and its Effects on Memory

Introduction

Caffeine is one of the oldest drugs. It is one of the most commonly used psychoactive drugs in the world, with approximately 80 percent of adult individuals consuming caffeine-containing foods and beverages (James, 1997). The most popular forms of caffeine are coffee, tea, cocoa, and cola drinks. Currently, caffeine consumption may have benefits for performance and safety at work. Coffee is a complex mixture of chemicals that provides significant amounts of chlorogenic acid and caffeine. Coffee is a powerful stimulant. For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (3-4 cups/d providing 300-400 mg/d of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks and some evidence of health benefits. Unfiltered coffee is a significant source of cafestol and kahweol, which are diterpenes that have been implicated in the cholesterol-raising effects of coffee. In addition, coffee consumption may help prevent several chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, and liver disease (cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma).

Side Effects on Students

Caffeine may cause a wide range of side effects on students (James, 1997), either due to abuse or due to abrupt discontinuation of its use. Some groups, including people with hypertension, children, adolescents, and the elderly may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of caffeine. Pregnant women may need to limit coffee consumption to three cups per day providing no more than 300 mg/d of caffeine. This is to exclude any increased probability of spontaneous abortion or impaired fetal growth. Also, caffeine and caffeinated coffee have been shown to acutely increase blood pressure and thereby pose a health threat to persons with cardiovascular disease risk.

The global prevalence of obesity has increased considerably in the last decade. Tools for obesity management, including caffeine, ephedrine, and green tea have been proposed as strategies for weight loss and weight maintenance, because they may increase energy expenditure and have been proposed to counteract the decrease in metabolic rate present during weight loss. Caffeine consumption is associated with a substantial reduction in insulin-mediated glucose uptake independent of obesity, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic exercise.

Aim of the study

The aim of this study is to investiogate the effects of caffeine on students' memory.

Research Question

Q. How caffeine effects on students' memory?

Literature Review

Caffeine has long been of interest because it is consumed daily by many people all over the world with relatively few side effects. Acute dose studies have been performed to investigate its effects on cognitive performance. Acute caffeine intake has been shown to improve reaction times and performance on vigilance tasks even with amounts as low as 32 mg. Its effects on memory are still ambiguous. It has been reported that acute consumption of 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg caffeine impaired the encoding of stimuli in working memory in women compared to placebo. (James, 1997)

Increases in caffeine intake may lead to a small reduction in long-term weight gain. For example, high caffeine intake was associated with weight loss through thermogenesis and fat oxidation and with suppressed leptin in ...