Healthcare Problems: How Caffeine Affects Human Cognitive Functions (Essay Sample)

Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Functions Name of Student Institution Affiliation Effect of Caffeine on Cognitive Functions Every year millions of people all around the globe eat or drink food supplements containing such substance as caffeine. Various studies have proven this supplement enhances most of the human’s cognitive functions. The negative effects are controversial and lack the proof base. Therefore, caffeine carries a positive effect on people’s cognitive functions. First, one should mention the positive effect of caffeine on such cognitive function as reaction time. According to McLellan et al. (2016), different studies have shown a positive outcome of the caffeine-containing substances on the human reaction time. As the authors state, doses from 12.5 to 400 mg improved the mentioned function both in rested and non-sleeping people (McLellan et al., 2016). Mental conditions improve due to the use of a cup of coffee or tea resulting in better driving abilities, especially in the evening time. There are various stories when drivers stop at the gas stations to cheer up with the help of a cup of coffee after a long ride. Therefore, the reaction time of a human body improves even following a low dose of the stimulant intake. Second, one should mention the enhancing influence of coffee on vigilance. As McLellan et al. (2016) state, regardless of how many times subjects drank caffeine-containing substances, various researches have shown a positive outcome on the human body’s alertness after drinking similar doses. As an example, the dose between 32 to 256 mg increased the number of signal tones after taking a Wilkinson test in one of the studies (McLellan, 2016). Moreover, the behavioral performances improved lasting for several hours after drinking 200 mg of caffeine according to another research (McLellan, 2016). Therefore, tea and other similar food supplements improve vigilance. Third, another human’s feature such as attention reacts positively to the increased doses of caffeine as well. As McLellan (2016) argue, attention, in the form of the speed and accuracy of making choices, or reaction, in other words, enhanced in various studies following the mentioned stimulant use with a dose between 40 to 280 mg, ranging differently depending on the studies. With that being said, it becomes clear such aspect of the human attention as the speed of decision making enhances itself after drinking caffeine-containing foods and drinks. Memory also benefits after the mentioned substance use. Epidemiological reports, as McLellan et al. (2016) argue, show that coffee and other similar drinks help to struggle with the neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, one investigation has shown elderly women including caffeine-containing supplements into their food basket performed better if to look at their cognitive features as compared to men who also drank coffee but did not show such results (McLellan, 2016). As the authors state, those were the “antiepileptic and neuroprotective improvements” associated with continuous cognitive stimulant use among adults (McLellan, 2016, para. 21). Therefore, caffeine reduces the risk of chronic memory illnesses, especially among women. Another non-laboratory research has found a positive feature caffeine provides when passing specific types of tests. As Pasman et al. (2017) demonstrate in their mainly female subject self-monitoring group study, the Go-No Go test results improved one hour after an intake of one cup of coffee as compared to the tests taken before the intake. The results collected from the observed group were nearly the same as those...