“This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightaway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind…,” gushed Honoré de Balzac.
Turns out that there is some scientific support for this poetic ode! According to experts at Harvard Medical School, caffeine sets off a chain of events that affects the activity of dopamine, another important brain chemical, and the areas of the brain involved in arousal, pleasure, and thinking.
Caffeine blocks adenosine, a brain chemical that helps you relax and fall asleep. This eye-opening property of caffeine makes you reach out for a cuppa when studying for an exam or staying up late to meet a deadline.The actual process of this change in brain chemistry is quite a fascinating one, described at length and quite lucidly in this article.
