Featured Image Credit: YouTube/@TheInfographicsShow/Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Photography/Getty Images
We all know the feeling of forcing ourselves out of bed and needing a cup of coffee just to get us out of the door.
It’s the energy boost we all rely on but what actually happens to our bodies when we drink it?
A shocking simulation reveals exactly how our body changes minute by minute after having a cup of coffee.
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Posted to YouTube by The Infographics Show, the clip gives us some insight into what takes place inside our bodies as we get that caffeine hit.
It only takes a few sips of coffee to help you feel more awake and this is because, after you drink it, the caffeine ‘enters the bloodstream via your stomach and small intestine. It is then carried around the body where it activates the pleasure sensors of the brain’.
The video explains: “So basically, the caffeine in coffee is tricking your body into producing chemicals that make you happy and more alert.
“This feeling is a good one, and therefore your body doesn’t want to give it up easily.”
It goes on to add: “Besides increasing the concentration of dopamine in your body to make you feel happy, caffeine also tricks the brain into thinking there is an emergency, which some scientists think may cause adrenaline to be released.
“This is another reason why coffee makes you feel so awake.”
It goes on to say that our bodies crave the substance once it has become accustomed to it because ‘caffeine causes higher concentrations of dopamine to build up in the brain due to its ability to block specific receptors’.
The video continues: “The highest caffeine levels your body will experience occur about an hour after you finish your cup of coffee. From then on, it will be all downhill.
“After about an hour, your body slowly starts to use up all of the caffeine that is circulating through your bloodstream.”
According to a study conducted in Psychopharmacology, that consisted of a compilation of 170 years of research, ‘the symptoms of caffeine withdrawals can start as early as 12 hours after your last cup of coffee’.
Viewers took to the YouTube comment section to share their reactions to the simulation.
One user talked about their own experience with quitting caffeine, saying: “My anxiety has lessened, I sleep more and am able to wake up earlier and without feeling awful.”
And another added: “I’ve been drinking coffee for 10 years straight now and just stopped. I’ve had splitting migraines and been nailed with existential crises all day.”
