Every single mind-altering substance works by changing the balance of the neurotransmitters in your brain and nervous system. To better understand how, let's take a look at what happens when you drink a cup of coffee.
- Within minutes, you experience increased alertness and heightened focus.
- Your mood may improve, and your memory feel a bit sharper.
- You might also feel a bit jittery, and may soon have the urge to urinate (coffee is a diuretic).
- In an hour of two you might notice youself feeling down, foggy and drowsy, and even irritable or cranky. You will probably start to crave another coffee at this point.
And this is what happens in your brain. The stimulant compounds in coffee - caffeine, theobromine and theophylline - cause the excesssive release of the neurotransmitters dopamine. Dopamine is then turned into adrenalin and noradrenalin. This trio of neurotransmitters leave you feeling motivated and stimulated.
At the same time, adrenalin causes glucose, or blood sugar, to be released into your system, stimulating both mine and body, much as a hit of sugar, say from a doughnut, energises your body. Adrenalin also acts as a diuretic and makes you want to urinate.
But the effects don't end there. In an hour or two, it's as if you never had that coffee - and you're likely to want another one. Unfortunately, the next cup, or the cup after that, is unlikely to produce the same kick. Frequent consumption results in a diminished response known as 'tolerance'. So in time, you may graduate from a regular coffee to a 'grande', or a stronger brew.
Now you're addicted. If you don't get your morning fix of coffee you feel lousy, perhaps even headachy. This is due to 'withdrawal', the negative symptoms that appear when a substance is stopped and disappear when it is reinstated. Soon, the consumer is in the grip of a compulsion, and is addicted to the substance. Most of what we use to get high, from coffee to cocaine and cigarettes to alcohol, fall into this category. You get less and less benefit as you become more and more addicted. It's a bad deal.
Natural Highs -
Patrick Holford & Dr Hyla Cass
