GEM2027 Preparation Outline

Name: _______Chua Sock Yii

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Tutorial Grp________W5________________________ Date: _26 September
2014____
Title: __Informative Speech____________________________________
Topic: __The truth about caffeine_________
Specific purpose: I want my audience to know how caffeine has the ability to make
us more energized and what are the pros and cons of consuming coffee.
Central Idea:
What happens to our brain and body when we take in caffeine.
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Introduction
I.

Do you ever feel like you would never make it through classes and lectures
without falling asleep? (Pause) Do you ever feel like you need just one more cup
of coffee to help you through your night of studying? (Pause)
a. If you ever feel that way, dont worry, you are not alone.
b. We all need an energy boost sometimes.

II.

Before I begin, I would like to have a show of hands, how many of you here
would consider yourself caffeine addicts?
a. Base on the slide here, which category do you think you lie in?
b. Are you a light? Moderate? Or heavy user of coffee?

III.

With caffeines stimulating effects, it is easy to understand why many people

choose to consume coffee without first thinking about what they are doing to their
precious body.
a. Coffee helps us to stay awake, giving us the energy to last through the day.
b. But how does it work? (pause to let audience think)
c. Why is it that a plain cup of water doesnt have the same effect? (pause)
d. What exactly is caffeine doing to our brain such that it has the ability to make
us feel more energized?

IV.

Today, I would like to talk about the workings of caffeine as well as its positive
and negative effects on our body.

Signpost: Firstly, to be better informed of what you are circumstancing your body to the next
time you grab a cup of coffee, you need to know what happens when you are awake.

Body (include citations of sources)

I.

For every single moment that you are awake, your brain is actually secreting a
chemical called adenosine, which slowly accumulates in the brain as time goes
by.

GEM2027 Preparation Outline

a. Adenosine is a chemical believed to play a significant role in promoting sleep
as it binds to receptors which inhibits brain activity.
i. The more adenosine we have, the sleepier our brain feels.
ii. This concept can be easily understood the longer we stay awake,
the more tired we get.
b. Research have found out that caffeine in our coffee exhibits identical behavior
to that of adenosine due to their structure similarities.
i. Caffeine starts to compete with the existing adenosine chemical by
fighting to bind with the adenosine receptors when the caffeine
reaches our brain after getting through our bloodstream.
ii. As these binding sites are now occupied with caffeine instead of
adenosine, the sleepiness effect will not be felt.
iii. Which is great! Since that has always been the reason why we drink
cup of coffee time after time.
Signpost: Secondly, lets move on to the nature of caffeine.
II.

Caffeine is a drug itself.

a. While moderate dosage of it is generally fine, caffeine is an addictive
substance that users can find it hard to cut down their consumption or even
quit using it once they get hooked.
b. Long term consumption of caffeine will induce the production of more
adenosine receptors by the brain which means, more caffeine is needed to
elicit the same response
i. This thus led to the gradual increase in the number of cups of coffee
one drinks every day, just to complete the same amount of workload
like the day before.
1. This explains why caffeine addicts will usually experience
some withdrawal symptoms to a certain degree as they try to
reduce their reliance on caffeine.
2. They tend to feel more tired than they would before they even
drank any coffee.

Internal preview: Now that you know how caffeine works its way through to help us stay
awake, lets take a look at the positive and negative effects of caffeine.

III.

Caffeine brings about various health benefits.

a. Caffeine aids in the stimulation of the adrenaline hormone.
i. Increased levels of adrenaline in the bloodstream help signal the liver
to break down glycogen more efficiently, giving you burst of energy
during emergencies.
ii. Also, it increases heart rate, get your blood pumping, opening up your
airways to allow you to breathe easier.
b. Caffeine also releases dopamine, a hormone that make us happy, the same
thing like cocaine does, just at a lesser degree.
c. Apart from those benefits of caffeine, studies have also found that those who
consume more coffee regularly are less prone to illness.

GEM2027 Preparation Outline

i. Those who consume more coffee regularly seem to be 4 to 8 times
less likely to develop Parkinsons disease.
ii. Lowered risks of Alzheimers, dementia, protection from
cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are all part of the medical
benefits of drinking coffee.
d. Too much caffeine will increase anxiety and disrupts sleep patterns, which
would result in a vicious cycle of endless sleep, causing one to turn to coffee
to overcome their fatigue in the day, leading to insomnia eventually.
Internal preview: On the other hand, too much caffeine is not good for the body too.
IV.

Since caffeine has its negative effects too, it is important that we know what the
safe level of consumption of caffeine is. It is known that approximately 150mg of
caffeine per kilogram of your body is the lethal dosage of caffeine.
a. Putting into perspective, with an average cup of coffee containing somewhere
around 150mg of caffeine, and if you were to weigh 50kg that would mean
about 50cups of coffee would kill you.
i. However, this is something that we need not worry because it is
harmful only if we were to drink all these 50cups at once which is
physically impossible for our stomach.

Internal summary: In short, caffeine can have both positive and negative effects on our
health and well-being.

Conclusion
I.

The bottom line is not to avoid drinking coffee, but to drink them in moderation.

II.

With that, I hope that you have gained a few insights from my speech today and
be better informed about what you are subjecting your brain and body to the next
time you decide to drink a cup of coffee.

Bibliography (use APA / MLA style)

13 Harmful Effects of Caffeine. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
Caffeine Overdose - Amount, Symptoms, Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved September
26, 2014.
Neuroscience for Kids - Caffeine. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
Purdy, K. (2013, October 7). What Caffeine Actually Does to Your Brain.
Retrieved September 26, 2014.
THE BRAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014.

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