Energy Drinks:

15-45 Minutes:

Caffeine enters your blood stream; your heart rate and blood pressure start to rise as stimulatory effects take place. The feeling of improved energy, mood and concentration begin to take place as the caffeine starts to block adenosine receptors and possibly a small increase in dopamine. At this point you may have the jitters if you drank enough.

5-6 Hours:

For most individuals at this point, half of the caffeine has been removed from your blood (filtered by your liver). While caffeine levels have been cut in half, you likely already felt the “crash” or a reduction in energy levels earlier though when your liver finished absorbed the excessive amount of sugar. Do not worry the feeling of caffeine withdrawal (headaches, irritability etc.) will be coming on shortly!

7 Days+:

Studies have shown that at this point you start to become tolerant to your regular dosage of caffeine assuming regular and constant consumption. Your choices are A) Keep feeding the addiction at higher amounts of caffeine or B) go cold turkey for a few days so your body can readjust by reducing the amount of adenosine receptors on your cells.

 Renew

15-45 Min:

Everyone’s body is different though the active ingredients in Renew should absorb quickly as they are mostly water soluble. Once absorbed, S.tortuosum and saffron extract  can increase serotonin levels by reduces its reuptake. This will reduce anxiety as well as improve mood (1,2,3,4,5). Through a different mechanisms, both, S.tortuosum and saffron extract, along with the L-tyrosine will lead to an increase in dopamine levels (4,5,6,7). The increase in dopamine will improve mood and motivation. Both dopamine and serotonin play a role in learning and cognitive function which also may be enhanced though the effects of S.tortuosum and saffron extract (4,8, 9).

12-14 days+:

In the long term the S.tortuosum and saffron extract can improve the ability to cope with stress and possibly improve cognitive functions (memory and focus) (4,7,9,10,11) Lastly there is the role of the strong antioxidants in saffron and Sicilian grape extract. Low-grade inflammation and an increase in oxidative stress can lead to both depression and cognitive decline (12,13). Thankfully, these powerful antioxidant compounds can counteract the effects of inflammation and oxidative stress and most importantly pass the blood brain barrier (14,15,16). This can improve mood and brain health over the long term.

Citations:

1. Noorbala AA, Akhondzadeha S, Tahmacebi-Pour N, Jamshidi AH. 2005. Hydro-alcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L, versus fluoxetine in the treatment of mild to moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot trial. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 97:281–284.

2. Hosseinzadeh H, Noraei NB. 2009. Anxiolytic and hypnotic effect of Crocus sativus aqueous extract and its constituentscrocin and safranal, in mice. Phytotherapy Research. 23:768–774.

3. Georgiadou G, Tarantilis PA, Pitsikas N. 2012. Effects of the active constituents of Crocus Sativus L.crocins, in an animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neuroscience Letters. 528:27–30.

4. Chiu S, Gericke N, Farina-Woodbury M, Badmaev V, Raheb H, Terpstra K, Antongiorgi J.Bureau Y, Cernovsky Z, Hou J, Sanchez V, Williams M, Copen J, Husni M, Goble L. 2014. Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Study of Cognition Effects of the Proprietary Extract Sceletium Tortuosum (Zembrin) Targeting PDE-4 in Cognitively Healthy Subjects: Implications for Alzheimer’s Dementia. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Article ID 682014

5. Terburg D, Syal S, Rosenberger LA, Heany S, Philips N, Gericke N, Stein DJ, van Honk J. 2013. Acute effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a dual 5-HT reuptake and PDE4 inhibitor, in the human amygdala and its connection to the hypothalamus. Neuropsychopharmacology. 38(13): 2708-2716

6. Ettehadi H, Mojabi SN, Ranjbaran M, Shams J. 2013. Aqueous extract of saffron (Crocus sativus) increases brain dopamine and glutamate concentrations in rats. Journal of Behavioral Brain Science. 3:315–319.

7. Lopresti A, Drummond P, Inarejos-Garcia A, Prodanov M. 2018. Affron, a standardized extract from saffron (crocus sativus L.) for the treatment of youth anxiety and depressive symptoms: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 232:349-357.

8. Dimpfel W, Gericke N, Suliman S, Chiegoua-Dipah G. 2016. Psychophysiological Effects of Zembrin® Using Quantitative EEG Source Density in Combination with Eye-Tracking in 60 Healthy Subjects. A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, 3-Armed Study with Parallel Design. Neuroscience and Medicine. 7:114-132.

9. Pitsikas N, Zisopoulou S, Tarantilis PA, Kanakis CD, Polissiou MG, Sakellaridis N. 2007. Effects of the active constituents of Crocus sativus, L., Crocins on recognition and spatial rats’ memory. Behavioral Brain Research. 83: 141-146.

10. Dimpfel W, Gericke N, Suliman S, Chiegoua-Dipah G. 2017. Effect of Zembrin® on Brain Electrical Activity in 60 Older Subjects after 6 Weeks of Daily Intake. A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, 3-Armed Study in a Parallel Design. World Journal of Neuroscience. 7:140-171.

11. Kell G, Rao A, Beccaria G, Clayton P, Inarejos-Garcia A. 2017. Affron a novel saffron extract (Crocus Sativus L.) improves mood in healthy adults over 4 weeks in a double-blind, parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 33: 58-64.

12. Maes, M., Galecki, P., Chang, Y.S., Berk, M., 2011. A review on the oxidative and nitrosative stress (O&NS) pathways in major depression and their possible contribution to the (neuro)degenerative processes in that illness. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 35: 676–692.

13. Miller, A.H., Raison, C.L., 2015. The role of inflammation in depression: from evolutionary imperative to modern treatment target. Nature Reviews Immunology. 16:22–34.

14. Andres-Lacueva C, Shukitt-Hale B, Galli R, Jaurengui O, Lamuela-Raventos R, Joseph J. 2005. Anthocyanins in aged blueberry-fed rats are found centrally and may enhance memory. Nutritional Neuroscience. 8(2):111-120.

15. Ishige K, Shubert D, Sagar Y. 2001. Flavonoids protect neuronal cells by three different mechanisms. Free radical Biology & Medicine. 30:433-446.

16. Olszanecki R, Gebska A, Kozlovski V, Gryglewski R. 2002. Flavonoids and nitric oxide synthase. Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 53(4):571-584.