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Mr. Brent L. Johnston
Potential Optimizing Programs
23, April 2008
How Caffeine affect your heart rate and blood pressure?
(Insert a photo of your experiment)
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Table of Contents
Research Project Abstract
………………………………..
-- 2 --
Research Paper
………………………………..
-- 4 --
Single Variable Experiment
………………………………..
-- 9 --
Introduction ………………………………..
-- 9 --
Relevant Background Research ………………………………..
-- 10 --
Problem Statement ………………………………..
-- 10 --
Hypothesis ………………………………..
-- 10 --
Materials ………………………………..
-- 12 --
Procedures ………………………………..
-- 12 --
Observations and Data ………………………………..
-- 13 --
Analysis ………………………………..
-- 14 --
Discussion ………………………………..
-- 14 --
Conclusion ………………………………..
-- 15 --
Project Recommendations
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-- 16 --
Acknowledgements
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-- 17 --
Works Cited
………………………………..
-- 18 --
Appendix
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-- 19 --
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Abstract
In this science fair I chose the topic on how caffeine affects your blood pressure and heart rate
when it is fully in your system. My hypothesis for this project was: I think that if I give a person
who doesn’t normally drink caffeine a caffeinated beverage their blood pressure and heart rate
would have a linear increase when consumed because the caffeine will make your body want
more oxygen therefore leading the heart to pump more blood. The dependent variable was the
heart rate and blood pressure, and the independent variable was the caffeine. The constants and
control in my experiment were: the mountain dew, milk chocolate, Red Bull, and coca-cola,
which were the independent variables, I chose fifteen people to test with ages ranging from 1261, and I manipulated the time that I gave them the caffeine which was the dependent variable.
The way I measured their heart rates and blood pressures was by using an E.K.G heart rate
monitor and a blood pressure monitor. I tested each person before they consumed the given
caffeine so I could compare the before and after results. Then they were either given a cup of
mountain dew, Red Bull, coca- cola, or four squares of milk chocolate and were then again tested
a half of an hour later when the caffeine was flowing through their system. The results of this
experiment were:
Name
Age
Caffeine
Blood Pressure
BP after caffeine
(BP) before
caffeine
Alee
13
Mountain Dew
110/64
112/74
Shaunisha
12
Mountain Dew
104/62
120/68
Kylie
14
Mountain Dew
110/66
110/70
Josh
13
Mountain Dew
122/68
120/70
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Shoboron
14
Chocolate
110/70
122/72
CJ
13
Chocolate
140/72
152/90
Mr. Johnston
35
Coca-Cola
N/A
N/A
Mr. Rolinitis
37
Mountain Dew
120/88
130/90
The results show that my hypothesis was correct. If I were to conduct this experiment another
time the only thing that I would change would be to give each person the caffeine at the same
time and it would just take a little longer for me to get done and I would increase the amount of
time I wait for the after results.
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Does Caffeine Affect Your Heart Rate and Blood Pressure?
Are you a regular caffeine drinker? Do you know how the caffeine in beverages that you
drink affects you? Well two of your internal body parts it affects are your heart and blood.
Caffeine specifically changes your blood pressure and your heart rate, along with some other
internal organs. If you are a regular caffeine drinker,(RCD), (one who drinks mountain dew,
coca-cola, and other soft drinks like everyday or every other day), your average blood pressure
will be different then those who don’t drink caffeine like ever (or maybe once a month or so).
Caffeine is a drug that is said to increase your heart rate and blood pressure for those who are
regular caffeine drinkers and those who are not regular caffeine drinkers, (NRCD). Scientists
have studied that caffeine has a major affect on your blood pressure and heart rate, which makes
it a health concern due to its abundance in markets nowadays.
Caffeine is a chemical compound that is made up of four elements; Carbon (C), Nitrogen
(N), Oxygen (O), and Hydrogen (H). Caffeine belongs to the methylxanthine family of
psychoactive drugs. (Savvy-fat-burning-food).
Chemical Model for Caffeine (Chemistry about)
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Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, chocolate, and a lot of soft drinks.
Caffeine’s bitter taste acts as a flavoring agent to counteract with the sweetness of the sugar.
Caffeine triggers an increase in your blood pressure and heart rate (Dr. Len Kravitz). People
who are not regular caffeine drinkers or have any caffeine at all tend to have a sharp rise in blood
pressure temporarily when they finally do have caffeine. Too much caffeine can cause
nervousness in the body and jitters (Revolution Health). Some researchers have found that there
seems to be a higher blood pressure average in those who regularly drink any caffeine than those
who do not. If your blood pressure rises 10 points in the systolic number then you may be
sensitive to blood-pressure-raising affects of caffeine (Revolution Health).
By the 16th century, the beverage made by infusing ground roasted beans was well introduced
to the Islamic world. Although a fundamentalist element felt that coffee was an intoxicant and
beans were then banned for a time in a few places, the beans were still being used among the
people (Joy Mitchell). Caffeine has been used as a stimulant since the Stone Age. It was
recorded that tea drinking started in 2737 B.C. and coffee drinking started in 1000 AD and milk
chocolate bars in 1876 (Health Topics).
In Australia, a 375ml can of coca- cola and Pepsi cola contains 40mg of caffeine. There are
regulations that allow a maximum of 145mg of caffeine per kilogram of cola- type drink. The
regulations for Australia are 54.5mg per 375ml a can. However, in the United States, the
permissible amount of caffeine in cola drinks and other carbonated drinks is a maximum of
200mg per liter (Savvy-Fat-Burning-Foods).
When Caffeine gets into your blood it is absorbed rapidly into the blood stream from the
gastro intestinal tract. The caffeine reaches a maximum concentration in about an hour. The
blood distributes it throughout the body. The caffeine even manages to pass through the blood-
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brain barrier. The half life of caffeine in the human body varies between three to seven hours.
While the caffeine is being distributed throughout your body it increases your metabolic rate by
approximately 10%. It takes women twice as long to metabolize caffeine, who are on “the pill”
(Resolution Health).
Caffeine has no different affect in children or in adults. The affect on caffeine for both
adults and children are the same. Children’s bodies get rid of the caffeine twice as fast as adults
(Koffee Korner). Caffeine can produce insomnia, delaying the onset of sleep and reducing your
sleeping time (Joy Mitchell).
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart
pumps out blood. If the pressure rises and stays high it can cause your body damage in many
ways. Blood pressure includes two numbers; systolic (Sis-STOL-ik) and diastolic (di-a-STOLik) pressures. The systolic number is the pressure when the heart beats while pumping. The
diastolic is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. The unit measurement for blood
pressure is a millimeter of mercury (mmHg) is the units to measure blood pressure (Heart
Monitors). Researchers have viewed seventeen studies that show that caffeine does not have a
persistent effect on blood pressure. Those who are sensitive to caffeine may have side affects
that only last for a couple of hours (Koffee Korner).
Hear Rate is the number of beats per minute that your heart contracts. A regular hear rate
is 60-100 beat per minute. Since caffeine is a stimulant and a drug, it increases your heart rate
by trying to pump more blood into your system faster. Caffeine has a blockage of the A1
adenosine receptor in the heart that causes the heart to pound faster. Caffeine sometimes has no
major affect on some people because their body might have a higher caffeine tolerance. In some
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people the caffeine on their heart rate and blood pressure would not be significant (Koffee
Korner).
Is caffeine hazard health crisis in today’s society? Some researchers have found that caffeine
May be a health concern due to the abundance of caffeine in markets today. Labels on the
bottles of soft drinks do not tell you how much caffeine may be too much for you. During the
past decade there have been researchers that have found evidence that caffeine is in relation with
cancers and diseases has no significant health hazard to normal caffeine in take (Koffee
Korners). Almost everywhere you go there are soft drinks. Since 2737 B.C. caffeine has
become so popular. Markets are filled with some product that contains some kind of caffeine.
Researchers have also found that caffeine is a mild stimulant so there will not be drastic affect
your health or putting you in danger of high blood pressure and rapid heart rate unless you
Consume entirely too much (Koffee Korner). Since 1950 serving sizes of pop have tripled.
The Minnesota Dental Associations have reported that a twenty ounce bottle of pop is the
standard. Society has and is continuing in the growth of caffeine amounts (Antonio Young).
Caffeine increases your blood pressure and heart rate. It seems to vary with each person.
Some people have higher caffeine tolerance. Caffeine is not necessarily good for you but it is
Not bad for you either. Caffeine is more so mediocre. If you are a person who does not drink
Caffeine on a regular basis, when you eventually have the caffeine you will experience some
kind of head ache for a little while. Caffeine has been proven non-hazardous to human health by
scientists and other researchers. Caffeine will continue to increase in our nation for years to
Come.
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SCIENCE LAB REPORT
Duties Each Person Performed…
Your Name: Ocqua Murrell
Names of Lab Partner(s):
Title of Lab Experiment: What caffeine does to your heart rate
Date: April 23,
Class: Science
Period: 10th
2008
I Introduction
I expect to learn what is caffeine, how it affects your blood pressure and heart rate. I need to
figure out what products contain caffeine, a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor,
caffeine products and some volunteers for testing how caffeine affects the human heart rate and
blood pressure.
II Research
Relevant Research
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Caffeine is a stimulant used to make soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea. It increases your
blood pressure and heart rate. People who drink caffeine on a regular basis have a higher blood
pressure than those who don’t regularly drink caffeine. To measure your blood pressure after
you drink a cup of coffee of a drink consisting of some caffeine then after 30 minutes or more
use a blood pressure monitor to measure your blood pressure. You can buy one at your local
Walgreen’s. You can also do the same thing by taking an EKG heart rate monitor and hooking it
up to a computer and follow the directions on it before and after you have some caffeine. You
could also just find one of your pulses and count that for a minute, and then record how many
heart beats you had (savvy-fat-burning-food).
Works Cited
1 May 2008 <http://www.savvy-fat-burning-food.com/caffeine-effect.html>.
III Problem Statement
What effect does caffeine have on your heart rate and blood pressure?
IV Hypothesis
I think that if we give someone caffeine and test their heart rate and blood pressure will have a
linear increase.
Heart rate and blood pressure.
Independent Variable
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The time, and what kind of caffeinated substances.
Dependent Variable
I kept the amount of caffeinated substances given to the people the
Controlled Variables
same.
V Materials
 EKG hear rate monitor
 Blood pressure monitor
 Chocolate (consumed)
 Mountain dew (consumed)
 Coca-cola (consumed)
 The EKG was hooked up to the computer, the n you had three wire looking things that had a
sticky sensor on it. One was green, blue and red. The black one went on your wrist on your
right hand, the green one went in the middle of your arm where it creases and the red one
went on your left had in the crease of your elbow up your arm.
VI Procedure
1.
2.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. Drink or eat the substance
9. Wait 30 minutes
10. Test heart rate and blood pressure again
11. Compare results
VII Observations/Data Recording
Physical Observations Log
Event/Time/Sample/etc…
Observation (sight,temp, sound, smell, etc…)
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Images, Sketches, etc…
Images, Sketches, etc…
Figure 1
Figure 2
VIII Analysis
Graphs, Charts, Diagrams, etc… from the
data
Calculations
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Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 3- (The Daily Journal, Kankakee Illinois, By Antonio Young, Health section, titled
“Carbonated Christmas”)
Figure 4- how much caffeine is in some soft drinks.
IX Discussion
My hypothesis was partially correct. Everyone that I had tested did not necessarily have a major
increase in their blood pressure or heart rate when they were given the caffeine. I think that I
tested some people too early also.
X Conclusion
I learned that some people’s bodies react different to caffeine. I concluded that the majority of
the people tested. Everyone’s heart rates increased only between 1-11 beats. Their blood
pressure’s all rose by at least 3 points or more.
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Recommendations
I recommend that people look to see how much caffeine drinks have because some peoples’
bodies cannot handle all of the changes especially if you do not normally drink caffeine. I also
recommend that you go get your blood pressure taken so you can know what your health status
is.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my science teacher Mr. Brent Johnston for helping me find information
and helping me with my thesis.
I would also like to thank my father for letting me use the
computer at home to look up information. I’d also like to thank, Alee, Shaboron, CJ, Shaunisha,
Josh, Kylie, Mr. Johnston, and Mr. Rolinitis for being volunteers in letting me east them for my
experiment. Much gratitude to you all. Thanks!
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Work Cited
Kravitz, Dr. Len. 1 May 2008 <htt://www.drlenkravitz.com/Articles/caffeine.html>.
Mitchell, Joy. 1 May 2008 <htt://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm>.
1 May 2008 <htt://chemistry.about.com/library/graphics/blcaffeine.htm>.
1 May 2008 <http://ww.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicsDetails.aspx?240&np=158&id=2003>.
1 May 2008 <htt://www.heartmonitors.com/excercisetips/heart_rate_basics.htm>.
1 May 2008 <http://www.koffeekorner.com/health3.htm>.
1 May 2008 <http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles/caffeine-how-does-it-affect-blood-pressure/6488C9EO4259-425B-975EDA39F3378760>.
1 May 2008 <http://www.savvy-fat-burning-food.com/caffeine-effect.html>.
Young, Antonio. "Carbonated Christmas." December 3, 2007. The Daily Journal. 2 May 2008
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Appendix
It is in another folder with all my papers and notes.
Contents of a 12-oz.
Calories
Caffeine
Sugar
Sprite
140
No caffeine
9 teaspoons
Pepsi
150
37mg
9.8 teaspoons
Coca- cola
140
34mg
9.3 teaspoons
Mountain Dew
170
55mg
11 teaspoons
Barq’s root beer
160
22mg
10.7 teaspoons
Sunkist
190
35mg
13 teaspoons
can of pop
Category
Normal
Systolic
Diabolic
(Top
(bottom
number)
number)
Less
and
than
Less
than 80
120
120-139
Prehypertension
or
80-89
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High Blood
Pressure
Stage 1
140-159
or
90-99
Stage 2
160 or
or
100 or
higher
higher