Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug. It can be found in a whole host of drinks, but most popularly in coffee, with the UK drinking approximately 95 million cups per day. So, in honour of this king of beverages, we’ve collated a collection of caffeine facts for you to consume.
28 caffeine facts you need to know
Caffeine acts as a stimulant to the nervous system. Therefore, caffeine can make you feel more awake, help you think faster and more clearly and improve your coordination.
120,000 tonnes of caffeine are consumed around the world every year.
Finland is the most caffeinated country in the world. The average Finnish adult consumes 400mg or about four cups of coffee a day - that's our recommended maximum daily limit according to the UK Food Standards Agency.
93% of people at work in the UK drink at least one drink with caffeine in it a day.
A cup of instant coffee can contain about 100mg of caffeine while a cup of filtered coffee can contain about 140mg.
The average mug of tea can contain about 75mg of caffeine. Even though tea contains more caffeine than coffee by dry weight, tea is usually brewed much weaker than coffee so a cup of tea contains less caffeine than a cup of coffee.
Some decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine. Despite what it says on the tin, one study discovered that some brands of decaf coffee contained about 10mg of caffeine per cup.
A cup of green tea can contain about 25mg of caffeine, depending on the brand and how it's brewed.
Cocoa has about 20mg of caffeine in an average cup.
Chocolate made from cocoa beans contains a small amount of caffeine. An unexpected caffeine fact is that the typical 50g bar of milk chocolate can contain about 25mg of caffeine. A 50g bar of plain chocolate can contain up to 50mg of caffeine.
Caffeine is present in some fizzy drinks and energy drinks. Be sure to check your fizzy drinks as drinks such as cola (40mg a can) and Red Bull (80mg a can) contain caffeine.
Caffeine can be a weak diuretic (although this varies from person to person). This means that it could make you go to pee more, which can lead to mild dehydration. Caffeine's diuretic effects seem to be less with those who drink lots of it.
If you drink lots of caffeine then be sure to help counteract any negative effects. You can do this by simply drinking plenty of water. Even better if your water is pure and filtered.
Caffeine can cause a slight, temporary rise in heart rate and blood pressure and large doses. Over three or four cups of coffee can increase your stress levels and cause lapses in concentration. Drinking up to this amount of instant coffee or a couple of cups of filtered coffee a day (depending on how strong they are) shouldn't cause most healthy adults any harm, but some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others.
It takes about four to five hours for your body to eliminate caffeine. 50% of the caffeine you consume will be gone in four to five hours. 75% of the caffeine will be gone after about eight to ten hours.
A fact about caffeine you probably know is that it can interfere with your sleep. Its effects can vary depending on your metabolism and how much you normally consume but, for most people, if you stay off the caffeine from about six hours before bedtime then you won't be affected. A caffeine fact is that if you drink it just before bedtime or throughout the day then the quality of your sleep may be reduced.
A much debated caffeine fact is if it can really help sober you up after drinking lots of alcohol. The truth is that drinking caffeine may make you feel more sober after you've been drinking alcohol but your body's reaction time and your judgement could still be impaired. Because of this, don't think it's safe to drive after drinking even if you've had a coffee. The impaired judgement can be dangerous.
There's no such thing as caffeine addiction. Addiction to it would mean that you compulsively consume caffeine against your better judgement, rather than chose to have it by your own free will. But…
Caffeine dependence is a real thing. You could experience headaches, drowsiness, irritability or lack of concentration if you were to stop drinking it after regularly drinking a couple of cups of coffee or a few or more cups of tea a day (235mg on average).
A not-so-fun fact about caffeine is that there’s such a thing as caffeinism. It’s a condition caused by overdosing. Intoxication can cause your nervous system to become over-stimulated. Symptoms include restlessness, headaches, insomnia, irritability, nervousness and palpitations.
The Food Standards Agency advises pregnant women not to drink more than 200mg (a couple of cups of coffee) of caffeine a day. Drinking more might increase the risk of miscarriage or a baby with low birth weight.
While studies say that up to 300mg of caffeine a day is safe for children, many are sensitive to it and can experience anxiety or irritability. This is because most of the caffeine kids consume is from energy drinks or fizzy drinks. They also contain large amounts of added sugar and that’s definitely not going to be good for children's health anyway.
Caffeine mostly comes from the bean of the coffee plant, tea bush leaves or kola nuts. It’s also found in Amazonian maple guarana berries, South American holly yerba mate leaves and around fifty-five other plants.
An unexpected caffeine fact - it’s is a natural pesticide in plants that contain it, killing insects trying to feed off of them.
Tea was said to be discovered in 3000BC. Chinese legend has it that the emperor Shennong discovered tea when the appropriate bush's leaves accidentally fell into boiling water. What luck.
Evidence of the earliest awareness of the coffee plant and the drink it can produce dates back to Yemen monasteries in the middle of the fifteenth century.
You can buy shampoos that contain caffeine but it's debatable as to whether this will actually help you grow a full head of thick hair. Even though studies have shown that caffeine can stimulate hair follicle growth and improve the condition of hair, these studies were only conducted in the test tube - not on anyone's actual head. Take this with a pinch of salt!
Caffeine can help reduce puffiness and dark circles around the eyes, but only temporarily. Caffeine can narrow blood vessels, so when we dab serums or creams containing caffeine under our eyes it can reduce blood flow. The old-fashioned way was to lie back and put wet tea bags over our eyes.
Now that you know all these interesting facts about caffeine, it’s also important to remember to stay hydrated. Caffeine can have the not-so-nice effects of dehydration – which we don’t want.
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Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
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