If caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors in the brain does that mean coffee doesn’t wake you up but keeps you from getting more tired?

Question

Would this be classified as a biology question? XD

In: Biology

Answer 1

Adenosine binding in the basal forebrain increases what’s referred to as your homeostatic sleep drive. This and your circadian sleep drive (aka body clock) are what eventually make you fall asleep and keep you asleep throughout the night. Preventing adenosine from binding prevents your homeostatic sleep drive from inclining for the period of time that caffeine is binding instead. Sleep inertia refers to how groggy you feel in the morning/how difficult it is to gain normal daily functioning. I cannot imagine caffeine binding to affect sleep inertia, so I believe your explanation is correct. I don’t know why people drink coffee in the morning. Maybe it’s a placebo effect.

Edit: I got to thinking that maybe caffeine not only prevents adenosine from binding but may also increase epinephrine, norepinephrine, or cortisol levels. I googled it and apparently coffee increases these “stress hormones/neurotransmitters” as well. Pretty interesting!