eli5: Since caffeine doesn’t actually give you energy and only blocks the chemical that makes you sleepy, what causes the “jittery” feeling when you drink too much strong coffee?
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Caffeine does most certainty “give you energy”
From a previous comment of mine:
“While caffeine does not directly bind to any dopamine receptors, it influences the binding activity of dopamine at its receptors in the striatum by binding to adenosine receptors that have formed GPCR heteromers with dopamine receptors, specifically the A1–D1 receptor heterodimer (this is a receptor complex with 1 adenosine A1 receptor and 1 dopamine D1 receptor) and the A2A–D2 receptor heterotetramer (this is a receptor complex with 2 adenosine A2A receptors and 2 dopamine D2 receptors).[168][169][170][171] The A2A–D2 receptor heterotetramer has been identified as a primary pharmacological target of caffeine, primarily because it mediates some of its psychostimulant effects and its pharmacodynamic interactions with dopaminergic psychostimulants.[169][170][171]
Caffeine also causes the release of dopamine in the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens core (a substructure within the ventral striatum), but not the nucleus accumbens shell, by antagonizing A1 receptors in the axon terminal of dopamine neurons and A1–A2A heterodimers (a receptor complex composed of 1 adenosine A1 receptor and 1 adenosine A2A receptor) in the axon terminal of glutamate neurons.[168][163] During chronic caffeine use, caffeine-induced dopamine release within the nucleus accumbens core is markedly reduced due to drug tolerance.[168][163]
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It releases dopamine, giving you energy in a similar fashion to other stimulants. It is by definition a psychostimulant, i.e a drug that gives you “energy”. “Promoting wake-fullness” is just another way of saying it gives energy, and even if you disagree with that its action on adenosine in other areas of the brain directly modulate dopamine which gives you “energy” in a more direct sense.”
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