EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS 5
Running head: EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS 1
Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Functions
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation
Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Functions
For centuries, people have consumed caffeine in the form of tea, beverages, energy drinks and coffee to enhance aspects of cognitive functions. Although consumption of caffeine associated with benefits and risks, when consumed moderately, it does not present health risks. Therefore, one has to know the effects of caffeine on cognitive functions. Caffeine is an enhancer of cognitive functions because it improves reaction time, attention, and vigilance.
When individuals deprived of sleep of sleep and rested take caffeine, their reaction time enhances. Over 80% of adults take caffeine because it relieves drowsiness thus improving reaction time. Santos et al. (2017) in their study found out that ingestion of a moderate dose of caffeine reduces reaction time in taekwondo besides increasing the intensity of training sessions. Therefore, the research further recommended that trainers or coaches should embrace caffeine supplementation to improve the intensity of players during training. The fact that caffeine deprives sleep and drowsiness and enhances reaction time, it improves cognitive functions when taken in moderate dosage.
Other than enhancing reaction time, consumption of caffeine improves vigilance in tedious, boring, and lengthy tasks. When vigilance improves, the performance in such tasks sustains for several hours. McLellan et al., (2016) added that the administration of 1-2mg/kg dosage of caffeine twice a day enhanced reaction time in tasks that require auditory vigilance in both rested and sleep-restricted individuals. However, there was no change in the performance of short tasks. Moreover, the study found out that caffeine taken during breakfast improved sustained and simple attention to jobs that require psychomotor vigilance. Even when administered in small dosages, caffeine enhances vigilance and has beneficial effects regardless of whether an individual is active or resting.
Besides improving vigilance, caffeine enhances attention thus enhancing people’s focus on tasks. McLellan et al., (2016) argue that a dosage of 40mg to 280 mg increased speed and accuracy of volunteers on a repeat digit detection task. On the other hand, a study that Pasman et al., 2017 conducted found out that consumption of caffeine improved the reaction time in the Go-No Go test thus supporting the argument that caffeine enhances attention. The amount of dosage taken determines the attention time hence. Consequently, simple tasks benefited from 0.2-5.5mg/kg dosage whereas complex tasks benefited from 0.75-5.5 mg/kg dosages of caffeine. The evidence provided proves that caffeine improves attention hence a cognitive function enhancer.
The fact that consumption of caffeine enhances cognitive functions like reaction time, vigilance, and attention; it does not mean that it has no side effects. The benefits of caffeine on cognitive functions bases on moderate consumption meaning that excessive consumption causes health issues. Because caffeine increases alertness, its overdose increases anxiety, hormonal imbalance, addiction, seizures, and leads to an irregular heartbeat. Addicts of caffeine encounter physical or psychological withdrawal symptoms when they go several hours without caffeine. As a result, overdosage of caffeine may lead to side effects that affect the healthy life and lead to serious health issues. Although caffeine overdose is detrimental to health, light to moderate intake of caffeine provides positive health benefits. Thus, efforts to sensitize people on adverse effects of excessive consumption of caffeine are the best option.
Caffeine improves vigilance, attention, and reaction time making it a cognitive function enhancer. Whereas low to moderate consumption of caffeine increases attention, vigilance, and reaction time making an individual have a sustained or improved performance in tasks, an overdose of caffeine causes health risks and addictions. Consequently, the priority should be taking actions towards sensitizing populations on negative effects of excessive consumption of caffeine should.
References
McLellan, T. M., Caldwell, J. A., & Lieberman, H. R. (December 01, 2016). A review of caffeine’s effects on cognitive, physical and occupational performance. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 71, 294-312.
Pasman, W. J., Boessen, R., Donner, Y., Clabbers, N., & Boorsma, A. (January 01, 2017). Effect of Caffeine on Attention and Alertness Measured in a Home-Setting, Using Web-Based Cognition Tests. Jmir Research Protocols, 6, 9.)
Santos, V. G., Santos, V. R., Felippe, L. J., Almeida, J. W. J., Bertuzzi, R., Kiss, M. A., & Lima-Silva, A. E. (January 01, 2014). Caffeine reduces reaction time and improves performance in simulated-contest of taekwondo. Nutrients, 6, 2, 637-49.