I got a 164 on my latest LSAT diagnostic test, down from a 165 last time. I’m pretty happy with this range, but I was hoping to get a little bit higher with each test. I have one more full Kaplan-proctored test, and starting today I’ll be taking full-length tests on my own.

With the Kaplan review class, I don’t get to sleep on Mondays and Wednesdays until about 10:30 or 11:00, and then we have to be up at 5:00AM everyday so that we can all get to work on time. By Thursday morning, I’m usually exhausted. Thank God for Caffeine. I am and have been for many years a caffeine addict. I found a website called the Caffeine Database that lists the caffeine content of many popular drinks. One of my favorites, diet Coke, has 3.75mg/oz. Interestingly, Diet Pepsi has 20% less caffeine, with 3.00mg/oz. The highest thing on the list is Sky Rocket Caffeinated Syrup, which has 100mg/oz!!!! Apparently this is used for flavoring coffee and other drinks, and as a topping for things like ice cream. It even has a warning label on it to keep away from children.

I’ve often wondered exactly how caffeine works. Here’s a brief summary:

Caffeine, officially called 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, is a xanthine chemical. When it enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine, it travels throughout the body. Once in the brain, caffeine binds to and blocks adenosine receptors. Wait, what are adenosine receptors?

Adenosine is also a xanthine chemical. It’s produced by our brains and is used as a neurotransmitter (that is, it transmits signals between neurons in our brain). All day long when we’re active and awake, adenosine accumulates in our brain. As adenosine levels build the chemical binds to the aforementioned adenosine receptors and signals the need for sleep. Then, as you sleep, the concentration of adenosine slowly decreases.

So when caffeine binds to and blocks those adenosine receptors, the cells can no longer detect naturally-occurring adenosine, and they speed up instead of slowing down. The increased neuron firing and subsequent reaction by the body is what makes us feel ‘awake’ after we’ve consumed caffeine.

Interestingly caffeine has a half-life of about 6 hours, meaning that if you consume a 26oz coke at 4PM, there is still almost 50mg of caffeine in your system at 10PM. And even if you can fall asleep (as I usually can), the residual caffeine prevents the type of sleep that makes one feel rested.