Coompo Research Chemicals

Caffeine has many effects on the body's metabolism, including stimulating the central nervous system. This can make you more alert and give you a boost of energy.

For most people, the amount of caffeine in two to four cups of coffee a day is not harmful. However, too much caffeine can make you restless, anxious, and irritable. It may also keep you from sleeping well and cause headaches, abnormal heart rhythms, or other problems. If you stop using caffeine, you could get withdrawal symptoms.

Inside the body caffeine acts through several mechanisms, but its most important effect is to counteract a substance called adenosine that naturally circulates at high levels throughout the body, and especially in the nervous system. In the brain, adenosine plays a generally protective role, part of which is to reduce neural activity levels – for example, there is some evidence that adenosine helps to induce torpor in animals that seasonally hibernate.

Caffeine is toxic at sufficiently high doses. Ordinary consumption can have low health risks, even when carried on for years – there may be a modest protective effect against some diseases, including certain types of cancer. Caffeine can have both positive and negative effects on anxiety disorders. Some people experience sleep disruption if they consume caffeine, especially during the evening hours, but others show little disturbance and the effect of caffeine on sleep is highly variable.

Evidence of a risk to pregnancy is equivocal, but some authorities have concluded that prudent advice is for pregnant women to limit consumption to the equivalent of two cups of coffee per day or less.