The chemist explained what coffee addiction does to the human brain

 A morning cup of coffee is a wake-up ritual for many people. However, a significant number of them admit that they can no longer wake up without the help of this drink.

Chemistry teacher, candidate of chemical sciences, popular TikTok blogger, scientist and TV star Gleb Repich explained to the "New Channel" what the danger of coffee addiction can be. In short, we deceive our body with an aromatic drink. But how does it happen?

The substance responsible for the effect of coffee is called caffeine. In its pure form, it looks like a white powder and belongs to psychostimulants. Its action consists in the fact that caffeine stimulates the nervous system, increases efficiency, concentration of attention, and also reduces the feeling of fatigue and drowsiness.

"How does it do this? Caffeine is very similar to adenosine, an important molecule responsible for the feeling of tiredness in our body. Adenosine is released during the day when we are alert, binds to special receptors in the brain and generates a signal of fatigue. So in the evening , when there is a lot of adenosine, we usually want to sleep," Repich explained.

This similarity can play a nasty joke on us. Thanks to it, caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, but does not activate them. Therefore, it blocks the receptors, and along with them, the feeling of fatigue. Which at the same time does not go anywhere. It's like a pain reliever that doesn't cure the pain, but dulls it for a while.

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However, you cannot deceive the body. After receiving a portion of caffeine, he still begins to feel that something is wrong, and begins to increase the number of fatigue receptors in the brain cells. Further, the mechanism is simple: the more receptors appear, the more coffee is needed to block them. Step by step, a person develops a coffee addiction. "If, under these circumstances, the coffee runs out unexpectedly, it can turn into a real ordeal. We suddenly have a lot of unblocked adenosine receptors, and all the available adenosine that our body produces will bind at the same time to all the fatigue receptors, which only will be able to find," warned the scientist. This can make you feel as if all of your delayed fatigue has come crashing down on you at once.

To avoid such trouble, Repich recommended consuming coffee in reasonable quantities. And don't forget about healthy sleep - the only really effective way to fight fatigue.