China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Stimulants and psychedelics
Published in Ilana B. Crome, Richard Williams, Roger Bloor, Xenofon Sgouros, Substance Misuse and Young People, 2019
Mild physical dependence may occur with repeated daily intake. The associated physical withdrawal symptoms, such as fatigue, headache, irritability, inability to concentrate, sleepiness, stomach pain and joint pain, are experienced by roughly half of people who stop consuming caffeine for two days following an average daily intake of 235 mg (Silverman et al., 1992). A rigorous study reported in 2009 demonstrated the physiological effects of caffeine withdrawal (Sigmon et al., 2009). Caffeine dependence and withdrawal occur also in adolescents who consume caffeine daily and is marked by symptoms similar to those found in adults (Oberstar et al., 2002).
Cross cutting themes
Published in Jane Hanley, Mark Williams, Fathers and Perinatal Mental Health, 2019
The indications of caffeine abuse may include restlessness, agitation, verbosity, insomnia, gastrointestinal and cardiac disturbances and diuresis, allowing for the fact that these conditions do not have an organic cause. The dependency on caffeine has been categorised into a mild, moderate or severe disorder. The criteria include, that despite knowing the risks, there is a craving for large amounts of caffeine, there has been an attempt to reduce and control the intake and there are characteristic signs of caffeine withdrawal (DSM5 2013). The signs of caffeine tolerance are defined by a marked increase in the amount of caffeine consumed in order to achieve the desired effect, often because the existing amount is insufficient. There is also a noticeable amount of time spent in activities designed to obtain, use or recover from the effects of caffeine (DSM5 2013).
Energy drinks
Published in Jay R Hoffman, Dietary Supplementation in Sport and Exercise, 2019
The issue of dependence, withdrawal and tolerance has also been discussed regarding energy drink consumption (74). Although it has been suggested that chronic caffeine users may fulfil diagnostic criteria for substance dependence (65), evidence supporting such behaviour is lacking. Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include headache, tiredness/fatigue, sleepiness and irritability. Whether these symptoms are associated with cessation of energy drink consumption is not known. Another issue of concern is tolerance. For athletes that use energy drinks on a regular basis, the issue of tolerance may have important implications as the competitive season progresses. Although high caffeine ingestion has been associated with tolerance (74), there are no studies to date that have examined the issue of tolerance in energy drinks.
Mental energy: plausible neurological mechanisms and emerging research on the effects of natural dietary compounds
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2021
Patrick J. O’Connor, David O. Kennedy, Stephen Stahl
Caffeine consumed by itself has consistent but restricted cognitive effects that are largely confined to improved performance of tasks assessing attention, including both simple and complex attention tasks, with the latter including tasks with an element of inhibitory control [46,56]. However, there is less evidence of improvements in higher-order cognitive function, for instance, in terms of memory or executive function [46]. Caffeine also consistently increases feelings of alertness (both in rested and fatigued states) and the ability to respond to signals occurring at variable intervals [57], and it enhances physical performance while reducing perceptions of effort and pain during exercise [46]. Regular caffeine consumption results in habituation, but evidence suggests that the effects of consuming caffeine are not related to an attenuation of caffeine withdrawal [56]. There is currently insufficient evidence to determine whether caffeine’s effects are moderated by habitual caffeine use [46,56]. In sum, a large body of research has documented that caffeine enhances feelings of energy, decreases feelings of fatigue, and increases performance on objective tests of attention. However, there is no meta-analysis of this large body of literature that quantifies the magnitude of these effects or analyzes potential moderating factors such as age, brain health, or relevant genotypes, (e.g. those for adenosine receptors). At least two experiments have found that 100–200 mg caffeine increased self-rated motivation to perform vigilance tasks [19,20], while a separate study found no effect of 50 mg caffeine on motivation to perform cognitive work [58]. Additional data are needed to conclude strongly that caffeine improves mental energy-related motivation.
Sleepy Teens and Energy Drink Use: Results From an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Youth
Published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 2018
Wendy M. Troxel, Joan S. Tucker, Brett Ewing, Jeremy N. V. Miles, Elizabeth J. D’Amico
Although caffeinated sodas remain the primary dietary source of caffeine among younger age groups (Temple, 2009), concerns have been raised by policy makers and researchers about the use of energy products (EP) specifically, given the particularly high concentration of caffeine contained in these products and that EP use is often associated with other high-risk behaviors such as heavy alcohol use, drug use, and risky sexual behaviors (Arria et al., 2010; Miller, 2008a; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2013). Furthermore, these products are often marketed specifically toward youth as a means of reducing tiredness, boosting energy, and increasing mental alertness (Bramstedt, 2007). Moreover, specifically with regard to the potential effects of EP on adolescents’ sleep, these products not only contain 70–80 mg of caffeine per 8 fl oz (237 ml) serving, or approximately three times the concentration found in cola drinks, but little is known about the potential interactions between caffeine and other common ingredients (e.g., taurine, guarana) contained within these products (Seifert, Schaechter, Hershorin, & Lipshultz, 2011). Guarana, for instance, is the plant with the highest caffeine content (Woods, 2012), thereby providing another source of caffeine within energy drinks. Thus, the combination of high doses of caffeine along with other alertness-promoting substances may contribute to sleep disturbance (Branum, Rossen, & Schoendorf, 2014; Roehrs & Roth, 2008), which in turn could lead to further use of EP to increase daytime alertness and compensate for sleep loss (Grandner et al., 2014). Furthermore, because sleepiness is a known side effect of caffeine withdrawal even after periods of abstinence as brief as several hours (Juliano & Griffiths, 2004), use of EP may initiate a vicious cycle of caffeine withdrawal, leading to daytime sleepiness, leading to greater consumption of EP, and further sleep disturbance. Thus, EP use could contribute to insufficient sleep and sleep problems with potential bidirectional influences and downstream consequences for adolescent health and functioning.
Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Caffeine in Fatigued Shift Workers: Implications for Emergency Medical Services Personnel
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2018
Jennifer L. Temple, David Hostler, Christian Martin-Gill, Charity G. Moore, Patricia M. Weiss, Denisse J. Sequeira, Joseph P. Condle, Eddy S. Lang, J. Stephen Higgins, P. Daniel Patterson
Although this meta-analysis was not meant to be inclusive of the totality of caffeine research, there are some concepts that are lacking from the literature that are particularly relevant to our population of interest. None of the studies reviewed here address the impacts of long-term caffeine use on these performance measures or on the broader concept of EMS personnel and patient health and safety. There are several important interactions to consider. First, chronic caffeine use can result in tolerance to the effects of caffeine (41,42). This could make acute caffeine use a less effective countermeasure and, therefore, lead to escalating doses of caffeine to maintain the same effect. Second, caffeine use can result in sleep disruption (43). This could also impact fatigue among EMS workers and reduce patient safety. Third, chronic caffeine use can disrupt circadian rhythms, resulting in a phase delay of circadian melatonin secretion when used within several hours of bed time (44), especially when used during overnight shifts. This contributes to “night shift syndrome”, which increases the risk of chronic disease and other health problems among night shift workers (45). Fourth, Caffeine Use Disorder and Caffeine Withdrawal Disorder are emerging in the literature as legitimate diagnoses in a subset of the population with high, chronic consumption of caffeine (46). It is possible that the fatigue associated with night shifts and shift work may promote excess intake of caffeine, which could increase the risk of these disorders. As the classification of these disorders develops, it will be important to determine if shift workers and EMS workers are an at risk population. Conversely, there are some studies reporting potential benefits of chronic caffeine use on health, including a lower incidence or risk of death from Type II Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and injury (47–49). However, these data were overwhelmingly collected from individuals who are not shift workers. The risk/benefit ratio associated with chronic caffeine use in shift workers in unknown (45). Clearly, more work is needed to evaluate the relative risks and benefits in the EMS worker population.