The Effects of Caffeine Dependency and How to Curb Them (Essay Sample)

Caffeine dependence
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Caffeine is the most commonly used a stimulatory psychoactive agent in the United States. It is because it is a legal psychoactive agent and is readily available in different products. Most common products that contain the substance include coffee, tea, dark chocolate, carbonated beverages such as cola and some candy (Nawrot, 2003). It implies that caffeine may cause dependence to consumers including children. The aim of this paper is to discuss the effects of dependency and how to curb them.
It is estimated that 80% to 90% of both children and adults consume the psychoactive agent regularly (Ogawa, 2007). The use of caffeine is mostly in small doses, and it may have beneficial effects on the body such as altering the mood of the consumer. Researchers also suggest that 9% to 30% of users develop dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) criteria (Nawrot, 2003). The consumers do not realize the onset of caffeine dependence due to its addictive nature. Those that recognize do so in late stages where the dependency is too high. The DSM-IV criteria also suggest that 26% of the caffeine users develop withdrawal (Ogawa, 2007). The personal aspiration to control the use of caffeine was found to be only 23%. Those that consult help from a physician is only 10% according to the DSM-IV criteria (Higdon, 2006). The need to control caffeine addiction is important because it may give rise to other harmful effects (Ogawa, 2007).
Understanding the effects of caffeine requires knowledge on its pharmacological activities. When caffeine is in the body, it is metabolized in the liver to produce three metabolites (Ogawa, 2007). The first is paraxanthine that is used in deamination and increasing levels of glycerol in the blood. The second metabolite is theobromine which dilates blood vessels and also has diuretic effects of increasing urination (Ogawa, 2007).
 
The third metabolite theophylline is a bronchodilator. Caffeine mostly acts in the brain after crossing the blood brain barrier where it blocks the effects of adenosine which plays a role in inducing sleep (Ogawa, 2007). In moderate doses, caffeine causes an increase in alertness, sociability and significantly reduces sleepiness. However, once a user of caffeine is dependent on caffeine, it may have more adverse effects such as mood swings, sleep deprivation depression, impaired judgment and anxiety (Higdon, 2006).
Withdrawal occurs when a user reduces the amount of caffeine used regularly or when one stops the use of caffeine. The symptoms of withdrawal include irritability. Irritability is one of the early signs of withdrawal together with the loss of concentration in places of work or at school (Higdon, 2006). Headaches fatigue and drowsiness are also experienced in some adults and adolescent consumers. However, some patients have developed stomach pain and insomnia. It is important to create awareness of these symptoms to the public to increase the management and also to reduce dependency (Higdon, 2006). Tolerance also occurs in about 75% of consumers and only occurs when intake is in high doses. Tolerance is the reduced receptiveness of a drug that occurs due to exposure to the drug (Higdon, 2006).
There are several harmful effects of caffeine dependency. Some of the direct effects of addiction of caffeine abuse include suppressed appetite, nausea and stomach aches and vomiting (Higdon, 2006). It is due to caffeine’s effect of stimulating the small intestine and also its effect of inducing secretion of water and sodium. The dependency of caffeine also causes adverse effects on perceptual memory thus affecting learning process (Ogawa, 2007). Some other effects include blurred vision, irritability, high blood sugar, cold sweats and a pale, clammy appearance. Rapid heart rate and palpitation may also occur due to caffeine’s effect of enhancing circulation of catecholamines and endothelium-dependent vasodilation (Ogawa, 2007).
There are also beneficial effects of caffeine in the human body. Researchers suggest that small dose consumption of the psychoactive agent causing improved awareness is useful to the user (Higdon, 2006). It also builds up the enhancement of attention in the brain. It may be beneficial to adults at work. Caffeine may be useful as a headache reliever in l...