Coffee production is booming - Adults, university students, and even teenagers nowadays can't

咖啡的加工品正在蓬勃發展 - 現在不管是成人、大學生、甚至是青少年

seem to function without being constantly powered by caffeine.

如果沒有咖啡因長期的加持，似乎都不能好好工作。

Over 80% of American adults drink coffee everyday, and together, they drink almost 600 MILLION CUPS of coffee every single day.

美國成人中超過 80% 每天都會喝咖啡，同時，他們每天幾乎喝下 6 億杯的咖啡。

Some drink caffeinated drinks for fun or to try the latest trend, while others are dependent on it.

有的人喝含咖啡因的飲料只是好玩，或是跟上最新潮流，然而其他人很依賴它。

The primary active ingredient in coffee is caffeine (or methyltheobromine) - a stimulant

咖啡裡的主要活性成分是咖啡因 ( 或甲基可可生僉) - 一種興奮劑

naturally produced by plants like cocoa beans, tea leaves and most commonly, coffee beans.

從植物中自然生成，像是可可豆、茶樹，最常見的是咖啡豆。

It stimulates the body, affecting many normal functions, and it also has mood altering characteristics.

它會刺激身體，影響許多正常功能，並且還具改變情緒的特徵。

We have to wonder how it affects our mind and brain.

我們必須知道它是怎麼影響我們的內心和大腦。

So let's take a look at the science behind the world's most popular drug.

所以我們來看看世界最受歡迎的藥物，背後的科學知識。

Our nervous system has specific receptors for neurochemicals, like adenosine, dopamine, and epinephrine,

我們神經系統有特定的受體，來接收神經化學物質，像是：腺苷、多巴胺，以及腎上腺素

and each receptor triggers a particular chain of events, leading to different effects on our body.

而每一個受體都會觸發特定的事件鏈，從而對我們身體產生不同的影響。

Caffeine has a similar molecular structure to adenosine, which is a neurotransmitter

咖啡因有著與腺苷相似的分子結構，它是一種神經傳導物，

that blocks other, excitatory neurotransmitters and makes us feel tired.

可以抑制其他興奮性神經傳導物，使我們感到疲勞。

When we drink coffee, the caffeine attaches to the receptors, which blocks out adenosine intake,

當我們喝咖啡時，咖啡因會附著在受體上，阻斷腺苷的攝取，

and this, in turn, increases the effect of excitatory neurotransmitters like epinephrine.

這反而會增加興奮性神經傳遞物，如腎上腺素的作用。

Epinephrine activates our fight or flight response, causing our body's blood pressure and heart rate to increase, and our liver to produce more glucose.

腎上腺素會刺激我們的戰或逃反應，使我們身體的血壓和心跳加快，肝臟也會製造出更多葡萄糖。

This makes us more energized, attentive, and productive.

這會讓我們更有活力、注意力更集中，工作更有效率。

Caffeine also slows down the reabsorption of dopamine, which makes us feel good and improves our mood.

咖啡因也會減緩多巴胺的重吸收，使我們感到愉快並改善我們的情緒。

It has also been proven to increase memory-related abilities- a study at Johns Hopkins University found that

也證實可以增加記憶相關的能力 - 約翰·霍普金斯大學發現

caffeine intake could strengthen our memories and improve retention for at least 24 hours!

攝取咖啡因可以增加強我們的記憶力，提高保留時間至少 24 小時！

But those were just the short-term effects.

但這都是短期的效果。

Where there's a caffeine high, there's bound to be a crash.

咖啡因含量高的話，一定會出現問題。

When the caffeine wears off, it makes you feel even sleepier than before.

當咖啡因逐漸消去，你會比平常更加疲倦。

This is because your body adapts to the large amount of caffeine by creating more adenosine receptors in your brain.

這是因為身體產生更多的腺苷受體，以適應大量的咖啡因。

But when all the caffeine is gone, those receptors are again occupied by adenosine, thus making you more sleepy/tired than more.

但當咖啡因全部都消去後，那些受體會再次被腺苷所佔據，因此讓你更想睡/疲倦。

Your contracted blood vessels will dilate and blood pressure to drop, which can result in headaches.

你的收縮血管會擴張，血壓下降，因而導致頭痛。

The decline of dopamine can worsen your mood, and you may end up tired, irritable, and unable to concentrate.

多巴胺的哀退會讓你情緒惡化，你可能會感到疲倦，易怒，而且注意力無法集中。

But too much of anything can lead to consequences-, and we have to remember that caffeine is still a drug so it can lead to addiction and withdrawal.

但任何東西過量都會有後果 - 而且要記住，咖啡因是種藥物，所以會導致成癮和戒斷。

Over time, the positive emotions we had in the beginning will be gone, and this makes us crave coffee and paves the way toward addiction.

時間久了後，我們一開始的正面情緒也會消失，這讓我們更加渴望咖啡，也讓我們走向成癮的方向。

By drinking more coffee, the number of adenosine receptors will increase, and so will our tolerance to caffeine.

喝越多咖啡，腺苷受體的數量會增加，以及我們對咖啡的容許量。

Overall, that means we will need more and more caffeine in the future to achieve the same effect,

總之，意思就是我們需要更多的咖啡因，才能在未來達到相同的效果，

which can worsen withdrawal symptoms and be detrimental to our health.

這會使戒斷症狀更嚴重，並對我們的健康造成危害。

Too much caffeine intake in the body can also lead to caffeine intoxication.

身體攝取太多咖啡因的話，會導致咖啡因中毒。

Some symptoms of caffeine intoxication are increased urination, intestinal discomfort,

咖啡因中毒的部分症狀像是，尿液增加、腸胃不適，

and in more serious scenarios, hallucinations.

嚴重的話會產生幻覺。

The effects of caffeine in the body will differ from person to person, based on their biology and tolerance level and also the strength of the caffeine.

基於生物學、容忍度，以及咖啡因的強度，咖啡因對身體的影響因人而異。

Coffee-drinkers may be pleased to hear that there are some long-term benefits.

咖啡愛好者可能樂於聽到一些長期的好處。

A systematic review of 36 studies and more than 1 million participants analyzed the long-term effects of caffeine consumption.

36 項研究和超過一百萬參與者的系統綜述，分析了對攝入咖啡因的長期影響。

They found that those who consumed 3-5 cups of coffee a day were at the lowest risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and liver disease.

他們發現一天喝三到五杯咖啡的人，對於心血管疾病、中風、第二型糖尿病，以及肝病，罹患的風險是最低。

Furthermore, an article from the University of Colorado Boulder reported that 3 cups seemed to have the best effect in terms of protecting the brain from neurodegenerative diseases that come with age, such as dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinsons disease.

此外，科羅拉多大學波德分校的一篇文章報導表示，三杯咖啡似乎在保護大腦免於，因年齡增長的神經退化性疾病，如：失智症、阿茲海默症，以及帕金森氏症上，有著最佳的效果

A 10 year study conducted in Finland, Italy and the Netherlands of 676 men found that

在芬蘭、義大利及芬蘭，對 676 人進行了為期 10 年的研究，其中發現

those who drank 3 cups of coffee per day had 4.3 times LESS cognitive decline than non-consumers.

每天喝三杯咖啡的人，比起不喝的人，降低產生認知能力障礙 4.3 倍。

So how should you be drinking your coffee?

那你該怎麼喝咖啡呢？

Based on research from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda,

根據一份來自貝塞斯達的健康科學統一服務大學的研究，

the best times to drink coffee are after your peak cortisol levels drop and that is when you'll need a little boost.

喝咖啡的最好時間是，皮質醇水平開始下降，而這時需要提升一點點。

The circadian rhythm is our body's internal clock, that helps dictate when certain enzymes and hormones are produced in the body.

晝夜節律是我們體內時鐘，幫助身體決定產生特定酶和荷爾蒙的時間。

Cortisol, a stress hormone, helps keep our body awake and reaches its peak between 8-9AM.

皮質醇是一種壓力荷爾蒙，有助於保持身體清醒，並在早上八到九點間達到最高點。

It peaks again between 12-1pm and 5:30pm-6:30pm,

又會在十二點到一點及五點半六點半間，再一次達到最高點

so the suggested times to take a coffee break are 9:30am-11am and 1:30pm-5pm.

所以，建議喝咖啡的時間在早上九點半到十一點，以及下午一點半到五點間。

According to Nutritional Therapist Annette Moldvaer, it is best to drink coffee AFTER you have a meal.

根據營養治療師 Annette Moldvaer，最好是飯後再喝咖啡。

This is because after caffeine intake, you body will release sugar into your bloodstream which triggers the release of insulin.

這是因為攝取咖啡因後，你的身體會釋放糖進入血液，從而引發胰島素的釋放。

If you have an empty stomach, this will lead to a drop in blood sugar, and prompt you to crave more caffeine and sugar, perpetuating your dependency on coffee.

如果你空腹會導致血糖下降，並使你想要更多的咖啡因和糖，讓你持續對咖啡有依賴性。

She also suggests choosing organic coffee free of pesticides, and also keeping away from too much sugar and flavourings.

她還建議選擇不含農藥的有機咖啡，並遠離過多的糖和調味料。

What effect does coffee have on you? Are you a coffee fanatic? or you more of a tea person?

咖啡對你有什麼影響？你是咖啡愛好者？或者你比較是茶類愛好者？

Let us know in the comments below.

在下方留言讓我們知道。

Thanks for watching!

謝謝觀看！