Most people will look for and drink coffee when they are sleepy. However, the effect of caffeine in preventing drowsiness is not felt by everyone, there are some people who actually become sleepy after drinking coffee. Why can this happen? Let's discuss the facts here.
Immune to Caffeine
Coffee is a drink that contains caffeine, one of the most well-known benefits of caffeine is to prevent and ward off drowsiness. One of the reasons you remain sleepy after drinking coffee is because the body has a high caffeine tolerance. Someone who consumes caffeine too often will develop immunity. This causes caffeine consumption to have no effect. When the body is immune to caffeine, consuming it will cause the body to remain tired and sleepy. Caffeine tolerance levels can change due to several factors such as age, body weight, and medications.
Too High Sugar Content
Coffee with a high sugar content and consuming it more than once will cause fatigue. This is because sugar, which is a simple carbohydrate, has a high glycemic index (GI). Foods with a high GI will increase the amino acid tryptophan. This tryptophan will enter the brain where it will then be converted into serotonin and melatonin, namely hormones that can influence feelings of sleepiness.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a condition when the body releases more fluid than it takes in, this causes the body to lack fluids. The caffeine contained in coffee will increase the frequency of urination. The large amount of fluid that comes out of urination can disrupt the balance of water levels and normal body functions, causing dehydration. When the body loses a lot of water, blood will move more slowly so that less oxygen circulates. This causes the body to become tired and sleepy.
Lack of sleep
Someone who lacks sleep will produce large amounts of adenosine compounds. The adenosine compound is a compound produced by the brain to increase sleepiness, adenosine will send a signal of sleepiness or fatigue to the brain. When someone drinks coffee while lacking sleep, the nervous system will capture and bind the adenosine compound first so that the body will feel sleepy and the caffeine cannot work because there is no more space in the nervous system. Even if you drink a few glasses of coffee after staying up too late you won't feel any effects.
Article written by dr. Retno Kuntarti H, M.Gizi, Sp.GK (Clinical Nutrition Specialist at EMC Alam Sutera Hospital).