Caffeine present in coffee works by changing the chemistry of the brain . It blocks the action of a natural brain chemical, adenosine, that is associated with sleep

1. HOW COFFEE KEEPS US
AWAKE?
Article Written and published by
www.worldofchemicals.com

2. History of coffee
 Coffee plant originated in Africa and
Madagascar. Coffee has become a universal
and almost indispensable beverage in the
modern dietary. It is a very reliable friend, the
kind of friend who plays an important role in
the various activities we perform during the
day.

3. History of coffee Cont…
 The coffee plant, which was discovered in
Ethiopia in the 11th Century, has a white
blossom that smells like jasmine and a red,
cherry-like fruit. Back then, the leaves of the
so-called ‘magical fruit’ were boiled in water
and the resulting concoction was thought to
have medicinal properties. As the fame of the
coffee plant spread to other lands, its
centuries-long voyage was about to begin

4. History of coffee Cont…
 Coffee spread quickly through the Arabian
Peninsula. In the mid 14th century, coffee
cultivation reached Yemen and for 300 years, it
was drunk following the recipe first used in
Ethiopia. Yemen’s climate and fertile soil offered
the ideal conditions for cultivating rich coffee
harvests.
 Istanbul was introduced to coffee in 1555 during
the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by
Özdemir Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Yemen,
who had grown to love the drink while stationed in
that country

5. Composition of coffee
 Coffee contains about 1500 chemicals. The different
groups of chemicals present in coffee are -
 150 Aliphatic compounds, 56 Carbonyl compounds, 9
Sulfur containing compounds, 20 Alicyclic compounds,
10 Ketones, 60 Aromatic benzenoid compounds, 16
Phenols, 300 Heterocyclic compounds, 74 Furans, 10
Hydrofurans, 37 Pyrroles, 9 Pyridines, 2 Quinolines,
70 Pyrazines, 10 Quinoxalines, 3 Indoles, 23
Thiophens, 3 Thiophenones,
 28 Thiazoles, 28 Oxazole.
 Coffee contains huge numbers of compounds. About
800 - 1000 aroma compounds caffeine,
carbohydrates, chlorogenic acids, trigonelline, lipids,
melanoidins, volatile compounds.

6. How coffee keeps us awake?
 It’s a normal practice to drink coffee to stay
awake. Here is how it works.
 Caffeine present in coffee works by changing
the chemistry of the brain. It blocks the action
of a natural brain chemical, adenosine, that is
associated with sleep. The binding of
adenosine with the brain causes drowsiness
by slowing down nerve cell activity. In the
brain, adenosine binding also causes blood
vessels to dilate (presumably to let more
oxygen in during sleep).

7. How coffee keeps us awake?
Cont..
 Adenosine are produced by our daily activity.
 Caffeine and adenosine look similar. Caffeine,
therefore, binds to the adenosine receptors.
However, it doesn’t slow down the cell’s
activity as adenosine would. The cells cannot
sense adenosine anymore because caffeine is
taking up all the receptors adenosine binds to.
So instead of slowing down because of the
adenosine level, the cells speed up

8. How coffee keeps us awake?
Cont..
 Caffeine also causes the brain’s blood vessels to
constrict, because it blocks adenosine’s ability to open
them up. This effect is why some headache
medicines, like Anacin, contain caffeine - if you have a
vascular headache, the caffeine will close down the
blood vessels and relieve it.
 With caffeine blocking the adenosine, you have
increased neuron firing in the brain. The pituitary
gland sees all of the activity and thinks some sort of
emergency must be occurring, so it releases
hormones that tell the adrenal glands to produce
adrenaline (epinephrine). Adrenaline is, of course, the
‘fight or flight’ hormone and it has a number of effects
on your body.

9. Reference
 1500 chemicals in Coffee!
 http://www.worldofchemicals.com/116/chemistr
y-articles/1500-chemicals-in-coffee.html
 How coffee keeps us awake? Detailed and
downloadable, printable infographic
 bit.ly/1sDAP4S