Caffeine Nootropic Review – Effects on the Brain

Caffeine is a cognitive enhancer that is frequently taken with nootropic stacks. Caffeine itself is a stimulant so it does not technically qualify under the definition of a nootropic, but it has been extensively documented to improve mental performance and brain functioning.

Aside from being the most popular legal psychoactive drug in the world, Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound. Its effect is to stimulate the central nervous system and temporarily increase alertness.

Caffeine itself is found in a number of natural sources. These include the beans, fruit, or leaves of more than 60 different types of plants. For this reason, caffeine may actually be included in a number of products that you consume without realizing this fact. Instead of being labeled as caffeine, producers may choose to list it as guarana berries, mat, chocolate, cocoa, kola nut, Camillia sinensis (the leaves are used to make tea), or a number of others.

This supplement or substance is also found in a number of weight loss and diet products as well as energy drinks and even possibly combined with analgesics for help in treating headaches. You can also buy caffeine anhydrous in either pill or powdered form to stack with other nootropics for enhanced energy, wakefulness and concentration.

Caffeine

Energy Supplement

Energy

Fitness

Alertness

How It Works:

• Boosts energy and concentration
• Increases alertness & fights fatigue
• Supports weight loss & metabolism

Dosage:

Between 50 - 200 mg per day

Safety:

Rated Likely Safe

Top Caffeine Products* ❯

View User Ratings* ❯

Caffeine Effects:

The main mechanism of action for caffeine is by acting as a replacement to a chemical called adenosine.

The role of adenosine is to basically make sure that your nervous system does not become over-excited or run out of control.

Caffeine is actually thought to mimic the actions of this chemical, but only in reverse. The important thing to remember is that when caffeine and adenosine both attempt to target the same chemical receptor sites, caffeine wins every time.

As caffeine targets these same receptors, this serves to enhance the stimulating effects upon the brain and central nervous system. This can increase the release of key neurotransmitters especially Dopamine.

This is a powerful brain chemical thought to activate pleasure centers within the brain as well as regulate executive functions like concentration and attention.

The Dopaminergic activity of caffeine is a key reason why you feel so focused and may see mood improvements after having some caffeine. The supplement actually works to increase the levels of circulating Dopamine in much the same ways as heroin and cocaine, although in a much weaker fashion.

Caffeine Benefits:

An interesting fact about caffeine is that it does not really differ, structurally speaking, between sources. This means that someone looking to supplement with caffeine could drink coffee, energy drinks, tea or ingest actual pills to achieve most of the same benefits.

The most well-known benefit of caffeine is an increase in mental and possibly physical alertness. Of course, this is not a very long-lasting benefit, and the effects do seem to decrease in this respect for that second cup or drink.

Recent studies (there are something like 22,000 different caffeine studies in the books) indicate a number of additional benefits. For example, regular coffee drinkers were 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, indicating that caffeine may have the effect of protecting brain neurons.

Caffeine use equal to two cups of coffee per day has also been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 20 percent, the odds of developing cirrhosis by 80 percent, and the risk of developing gallstones by 50 percent. Other studies indicate beneficial effects in treating asthma, headaches, and boosting mood.

As a Nootropic, there are also a number of beneficial effects upon mood, memory, and cognition. There can be no denying the fact that most people feel much more alive and mentally alert after their morning jolt of caffeine or the afternoon energy drink. Memory is improved, focus and concentration are enhanced. There is even evidence to suggest that caffeine consumption can help protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Research into this is ongoing.

Caffeine Dosage:

It is difficult to say what dosage the average American consumes of caffeine on a daily basis. The substance is on the generally regarded as safe (GRAS) list according to the FDA but each person will likely have a different ability to tolerate caffeine. Most people would be well advised to limit consumption to under 300 mg. This should equal to around 3 or 4 cups of coffee.

The dosages present in other ‘supplements’ like energy drinks may vary considerably, so be sure to read the labels. You should also be aware that you can build up a tolerance to the effects of caffeine which is why you might want to cycle it in your nootropic stack.

Caffeine Side Effects:

Despite caffeine being generally well-tolerated and safe for most healthy adults, there are a number of side effects associated with its continuous or long-term use.

Doses above 300 mg per day may lead to rapid and irregular heart beat along with trouble sleeping.

The fact is that caffeine has about a six-hour half-life. This means that if you were to drink a big cup of coffee at 3pm which contained 200 mg of caffeine, by 9pm you would still have 100mg being active in your system.

This could very easily disturb or disrupt your sleep cycle, even if it was not enough to cause insomnia (you might miss out on some of the beneficial deep REM sleep that is vital to good health).

Also, there is some concern that tolerance can be developed for caffeine. There is even the potential for increases in fatigue and depression as the effects of caffeine begin to wear off. Not to mention the fact that over time it takes more and more to induce the same feelings of alertness and wakefulness.

Caffeine Review:

As with anything, caffeine should be consumed in moderation as part of your nootropic stack. Many people prefer to use Green Tea as their source of caffeine or to stack this compound with L-Theanine which is also naturally found in Green Tea. L-Theanine has been discovered to prevent some of the restlessness and anxiety that caffeine can cause without detracting from its mechanism of action when used together.

Additionally, the best strategy might be to not use it every day, but only on an occasional ‘as-needed’ basis. There are a lot of potential health benefits which should not be overlooked and a lot of ways in which caffeine is known to boost brainpower. By using with both the benefits and risks firmly in mind it should be possible to enjoy the many positive effects without suffering the unpleasant side effects of overuse.

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