Caffeine is the central nervous stimulant commonly found in beverages such as tea, coffee and soft drinks, as well as some over-the-counter medications. The drug has general stimulatory effects on your body but is not generally thought of to damage or impair your memory. To the contrary, some evidence exists to show that ingesting caffeine may increase your ability to remember.
Caffeine
Every time you drink a caffeinated beverage or otherwise ingest caffeine, the drug quickly passes into your brain and acts as a general stimulant that excites your central nervous system. The drug's well-known side effects include an increase in alertness and awareness, as well as decreasing feelings of fatigue or drowsiness. Ingesting too much caffeine can cause negative side effects such as anxiety, heart palpitations or restlessness. It is also possible to become addicted to the substance and experience withdrawal symptoms when you are deprived of it.
Caffeine and Memory
According to a study presented to the 2005 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, caffeine's effects on stimulating the central nervous system may also increase your short-term memory. According to the research, participants who ingested about 100 mg of caffeine, about as much as you might find in an ordinary cup of coffee, had higher brain activity in the areas of the brain associated with short-term memory when compared against those who did not ingest caffeine. However, the study did not reveal how much caffeine is necessary to cause this effect, nor how long the effect lasted or whether it had any long-term effects.
Memory and Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease is a medical condition that affects your brain and impairs your ability to remember. According to a pair of studies published in the July 2009 online version of the "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease," caffeine may be an effective treatment in preventing or reversing the memory loss effects of the disease. In the studies, mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease that were given large doses of caffeine experienced a reversal of their impaired memories. Whether this effect is the same in humans is unknown and further research is needed.
Considerations
Although there is some evidence to show that caffeine may have an effect on your ability to use short-term memory, further study is needed to determine if this effect is widespread. In general, caffeine is not a potentially dangerous drug and as long as you consume it in moderate amounts you should be safe from any negative side effects. However, if you find yourself suffering from such side effects, you can always cut back or eliminate caffeine from your diet as it is not a necessary nutrient.
Member Comments