In people addicted to caffeine, coffee does not have the same effect as in subjects without a habit of consuming that substance, according to a study published in the journalNeuropsychopharmacology. What’s more, its effect can be equivalent to that of a placebo.
“Although frequent users feel more awake with caffeine, evidence suggests that this sensation is the result of reversal of the fatigue that causes acute withdrawal,” explains Peter Rogers, researcher in the department of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol and director of the study.
To reach this conclusion, Rogers and his team conducted an experiment with 379 adults divided into several groups: high, medium, mild and zero coffee consumers, who were askeddid not drink that infusion for 16 hours. Laterthey were offered coffee or a placebo and their anxiety, alertness, and headache levels were recorded. According to the scientists, people addicted to caffeine had adecreased alertness and increased headache before drinking that drink.
However, measurements taken revealed that their alertness levels after taking caffeine were not higher compared to those who took a placebo. This suggests thatcaffeine only returns coffee drinkers to their “normal state”.
Thosepeople who had a genetic variant linked to anxietythey tended more todrinking slightly larger amounts of coffee. Scientists think that a slight increase in anxiety “could be part of the pleasant arousal caused by caffeine.”
