Calling All Coffee Lovers! — This One
The Captivating Chemistry of Caffeine
The Scene
My family and I went on a day trip to the beach a few days ago. We had to drive about 2 hours to get to our destination, so my brother and I decided to split up the driving. After enjoying the beach for a good afternoon, it was time for us to drive back.
Before we did, my brother suggested that we grab a cup of coffee so we can make sure we’re fully alert for the drive back home. We looked up the closest coffee shop to our location and were delighted to find that it was just a 5-minute walk away.
While I don’t visit coffeeshops too often, that rich and earthy aroma of coffee when you first walk in the door of a good cafe is truly to die for.
I ordered an iced mocha for myself (don’t get mad at me, coffee purists). After taking a few sips, I remembered learning about how caffeine works while studying neuroscience back in high school.
This is truly one of my favorite neuroscience concepts to explain because it can weave numerous scientific principles into one cohesive story.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing about it.
The Science
ATP, The Energy Molecule
ATP is widely known as the energy currency of our bodies, and it stands for Adenosine Tri-phosphate. Let’s break that word down. One part of the molecule is called adenosine and the other part is a chain of three (hence, “tri-”) phosphate molecules.
That triphosphate part is where all the energy is held. By breaking off phosphates from the chain, the cell can access the energy held in that chain ATP. In this process, ATP is converted to ADP (Adenosine “Di-” phosphate), and AMP (Adenosine “Mono-” phosphate). When all phosphate chunks are removed from ATP, we get adenosine by itself.
Our brain uses up about 20% of our daily caloric intake. Meaning that our brains are using a ton of ATP to allow us to go through our days. When our brain cells break off, they leave behind the adenosine to float around. That means adenosine is a byproduct of ATP consumption.
Fascinatingly, our brain cells have special receptors that can detect the amount of adenosine that is floating around in our system. When these receptors are activated, it makes us feel tired and helps us fall asleep. This contributes to the feeling of drowsiness we feel when bedtime comes around at the end of the day.
Caffeine, The Most Popular Drug In The World
Briefly put, caffeine works by tricking those special adenosine receptors I described above. Caffeine can do this because, at a molecular level, the two molecules look pretty similar.
Looking at the diagram above, notice how caffeine looks kind of like that upper-right-hand portion of the adenosine molecule.
Super cool, isn’t it?
Through this imitation, caffeine stops those receptors from detecting the adenosine molecules that are still floating around. As a result, caffeine stops that tiredness signal from being produced by our brain cells. This is how caffeine makes us feel alert!
Conclusion
Science is all around us in our day-to-day lives, and we only need to follow our curiosity to find some fascinating knowledge. Today, we discussed how caffeine in coffee helps us feel more alert.
To summarize:
- ATP is the fundamental energy currency of our bodies.
- When our body uses ATP, adenosine can build up in our system.
- Adenosine buildup contributes to the feeling of drowsiness we experience.
- Caffeine stops that drowsiness by mimicking adenosine and blocking those special receptors.
So, the next time you sip your morning coffee or have a little afternoon cup of joe, take a moment to appreciate the elegant chemistry going on inside your body.
If you’d like to take a deeper dive into the science of caffeine, check out this article by Amirali Banani, a fellow writer for Insights of Nature.
I’m your friendly neighborhood nerd, eager to help you find answers to your burning questions.
I hope you find this world as fascinating as I do, because I love learning and communicating about it. I welcome any and all feedback about my writing. If you made it to this message, thank you so much for reading!
