Name: The Danger in the Caffeine High: Coffee’s Good Versus Bad Effects
Uploaded: 2026-07-07T05:03:01.000Z
Description: “He was addicted to caffeine. He’d have anywhere from six to 12 cups a day,” says Dr. Daniel Amen, describing an Air Force pilot he once treated.

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“He was addicted to caffeine. He’d have anywhere from six to 12 cups a day,” says Dr. Daniel Amen, describing an Air Force pilot he once treated.

Watch our exclusive episode, only on <a href="https://www.ntd.com/vital-signs" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">NTD</a>.

The veteran psychiatrist and social media influencer used specialized imaging to indicate to the pilot the health and function of his brain.

“His brain looked way older than he did,” says Dr. Amen. Within a month of cutting back on caffeine, the pilot “was stunned with the amount of energy he had and with how much better his sleep was,” he adds.

Of course, this highlights just one side of the risks versus benefits of coffee drinking; and on the flip side, there’s no shortage of evidence to support the benefits.

What did the 2022 study of more than 170,000 people over seven years reveal about the relationship between coffee drinking and length of life?

How many cups of coffee per day was linked to the longest lifespan? And how did the use of sugar and artificial sweetener factor in?

Coffee drinking is linked to a lower risk of depression, suicide, and even Alzheimer’s disease.

What might be happening biochemically to trigger not just these, but also caffeine’s addictive effects?

We lay out the scientifically-backed pros and cons of drinking coffee on Vital Signs with Brendon Fallon.

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Referenced studies:

Adenosine and sleep
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12531135/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12531135/</a>

Midlife coffee and tea drinking and the risk of late-life dementia: a population-based CAIDE study
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19158424/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19158424/</a>

Caffeine and coffee as therapeutics against Alzheimer’s disease
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20182037/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20182037/</a>

Coffee, caffeine, and risk of depression among women
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21949167/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21949167/</a>

Cocaine increases dopamine release by mobilization of a synapsin-dependent reserve pool
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16554471/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16554471/</a>

Association of Sugar-Sweetened, Artificially Sweetened, and Unsweetened Coffee Consumption With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Large Prospective Cohort Study
<a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2977" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M21-2977</a>

Habitual coffee consumption inversely associated with metabolic syndrome-related biomarkers involving adiponectin
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23602227/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23602227/</a>

Comparison of Changes in Energy Expenditure and Body Temperatures after Caffeine Consumption
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000177854" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://doi.org/10.1159/000177854</a>

Caffeine promotes autophagy in skeletal muscle cells by increasing the calcium-dependent activation of AMP-activated protein kinase
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.09.094" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.09.094</a>

Metabolic effects of caffeine in humans: lipid oxidation or futile cycling?
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.1.40" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.1.40</a>

Coffee, caffeine, and risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study in younger and middle-aged U.S. women
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16443894/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16443894/</a>

Caffeine intake and cognitive functions in children
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32601990/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32601990/</a>

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Vital Signs’ host, guests, and contributors offer general information on improving health and wellness. This is not intended as diagnosis or medical advice. You should consult your medical doctor or holistic doctor before enacting any suggested strategies for health and wellness improvement, including those in relation to preventing or treating specific diseases featured on this program.

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