A look at the mental effects of coffee, wine and cannabis

The three great engines of the human body seem to be coffee, wine and cannabis. Yes, there are more, but people tend to focus on at least one of these three. Starbucks has fundamentally changed the way we drink coffee and put it at the forefront of our daily thinking. What are the psychological effects of coffee, wine and cannabis?

• A coffee drinker will tell you how profound it is to get things done.
• A wine drinker will be amazed at the importance of health and longevity.
• A cannabis user will praise the benefits of feeling happy on a regular basis.

Coffee

Caffeine in coffee has a chemical structure very similar to a chemical in our brain called adenosine, which makes us sleepy. So when we drink coffee, the caffeine binds to the adenosine (think of it like putting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together), preventing it from binding to the receptors in our brain. We feel awake! However, the more coffee we drink, the more adenosine our body builds up to normalize.
half-life: about 6 hours

RELATED: Why Are Millennials Drinking Less Alcohol?

Photo by Shironosov/Getty Images

Wine

Alcohol in wine is a chemical that stimulates a part of your brain often referred to as the “primitive brain” (aka the hypothalamus). This part of your brain controls our “simple” functions like hunger, body temperature, fear, mothering (for women), and the need for sex. So if you’re suddenly feeling hungry, sweaty and fearlessly craving physical attention, then this could be the reason. Of course, when we drink too much, alcohol is toxic and our bodies shut down to metabolize it.
half-life: 1 hour (for 1 drink)

RELATED: Cannabis and coffee: From taboo to trend

cannabis

THC in cannabis is a chemical that affects all of the chemical messages (neurotransmitters) that are sent in your brain. In short, it slows down your brain’s messaging system, which has multiple effects. One of the benefits is that it keeps your reward and motivation system (the nucleus accumbens) on, leaving you feeling euphoric and positive. On the other hand, we can become paranoid or overeat because THC slows down our ability to relay good information to the fear/hunger center in our brain (hypothalamus).
half-life: 36 hours

focus

Were you hoping to get something done?

emotions

Time for a roller coaster ride!

We all need something to help us unwind at the end of the day. You might have a glass of wine, a joint, or a big, delicious dollop of heroin to silence your goofy brain box from its chirping, but there has to be some sort of punctuation or life just seems utterly unrelenting. – Russell Brand, 24 Funny Wine Quotes

consciousness

Have you ever looked over your shoulder while viewing? You’ve probably just had some coffee.

Drive

Time to take an Uber.

hunger

Luckily for us wine drinkers, food goes very well with wine.

sex

Yes, please.

creativity