Caffeine is a highly potent stimulant. People consume caffeine in a variety of ways. Coffee is the most common vessel for caffeine distribution to approximately 171,446,220 Americans.

According to recent statistics provided by Statistic Brain, 54 percent of Americans over the age of 18 consume coffee on a daily basis.

In a new study conducted by John’s Hopkins University, only people who are at baseline caffeine levels were able to experience the effects of the stimulant in a positive academic way. 160 participants experimented with how caffeine can enhance long-term memory.

It was concluded by the university that if approximately 200 mg of caffeine were consumed after a session of studying, participants were able to better recall information after a 24-hour period than those who had taken the placebo.

“Caffeine is a very powerful natural agent that enhances cognitive functions; we’ve known that for a long time,” said Jason Chan, assistant professor of cognitive psychology.  “If you’re tired, you drink coffee, or you take caffeine and it keeps you awake. But it doesn’t just keep you awake, it also enhances your ability to perform tasks.”

Just being tired alone can have an impairing effect on memory performance, said Chan.

“Anything that can reverse that, anything that can prevent that will be good for memory performance,” said Chan of the stimulant.

Caffeine will have a stronger effect on people who do not consume caffeine on a daily basis compared to those who do, said Chan.

“You do build up resistance to caffeine; your body will get used to it and it does stay in your system for quite a long time,” Chan said.

A person would need to take caffeine more often or at a much higher dose in order to feel the stimulant’s effects at a considerable volume.

Ruth Litchfield, associate professor of food science and human nutrition, said she could see some major complications befalling those who choose to experiment with the stimulant without proper knowledge of the dangers that could occur.

“One of the things that caffeine has been linked with is high blood pressure,” Litchfield said. “If you take a large dose of caffeine and you aren’t accustomed to caffeine, it can significantly increase your blood pressure.”

The idea that the more you consume, the better it gets is not how it always works; there is a point of diminishing returns. There is a curve. It depends on the person. His or her height, weight and body type, as well as if he or she is accustomed to caffeine, are factors that contribute to how well the stimulant works, said Litchfield.

Blood pressure alone is not the only complication that could occur with the excessive use of caffeine. Anxiety is a result, along with heart palpitations and arrhythmias, said Litchfield.

There is that possibility that what a person is eating in a day might make a difference in how the caffeine metabolite is cleared from the system. Body fluid status remains a factor because it is going to be excreted. Physical activity, depending on the intensity and the size of the person, could also influence the metabolism.

It stands to reason that all of those factors can influence how caffeine is metabolized and utilized in the body, said Litchfield.

If students were to consider taking on this study, Litchfield would recommend going about it “very carefully.”

Her concerns consist of the lack of information energy drinks provide consumers.

“If you look at the label and you see it has caffeine in it, it might also have guarana and mahuang. These are herbs or extracts that have caffeine like effects,” Litchfield said. “If an energy drink has all three and they don’t tell you how much is in there, you can get into some significant dosing of components that either have caffeine or act like caffeine.”