Why Caffeine Works Differently in Neurodivergent Brains
- Holly Curtin
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Let me set the scene here..
I was about to join an important meeting, the kind where you need to sound like you have your life together. But my brain was doing that thing. The overstimulation kicked in, my words started tripping over each other, and everything in my head sped up.
So obviously I did what any logical person would do: I made a coffee.
And instead of becoming hyper and jittery …I calmed down... slightly, but I'll accept small wins at this point.
And I thought: “Why is caffeine working like a weighted blanket for my brain?”
So here we are. A blog written because my central nervous system apparently didn’t read the rulebook, and as a biomedical science student I felt it was my duty to find out!
A lot of people think caffeine = energy, speed, chaos, heart palpitations. But that’s not the case for many neurodivergent people. For us, caffeine often feels like someone turning the volume down in our brain.
Here’s the science (the real stuff, not TikTok science):
Dopamine Regulation Works Differently & Here's Why..
Image credit: The Science of Parkinson’s (https://scienceofparkinsons.com)
Neurodivergent brain wiring is associated with differences in dopamine signalling. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that regulates attention, motivation, and reward processing. Research shows that these pathways work differently in ADHD (Del Campo et al., 2013) and appear atypical in some autistic individuals (Paval, 2017).
Caffeine gives a small boost to dopamine transmission. Not enough to launch you into orbit, just enough to regulate the chaos.
For neurotypical brains:
Caffeine = extra stimulation = energy spike.
For neurodivergent brains:
Caffeine = support to an under-stimulated system = calm, clarity, smoother thinking.
It’s like topping up a phone battery that’s been running on 3% forever.
What Caffeine Also Offers Us
(aside from coffee)
Enhanced Inhibitory Control (aka “filters out the noise”)
Many ND people struggle with sensory filtering, attention regulation, and internal noise, that buzzing mental static that makes you forget words mid-sentence.
Studies show caffeine increases activity in the prefrontal cortex and enhances “inhibitory control” (Smith, 2002), which basically means you can filter out unimportant information better.
It Reduces Hyperarousal and Social Overwhelm
This is the part that explains my meeting incident...
Neurodivergent people often live in a state of hyperarousal, mentally, socially, and sensory wise. Caffeine can paradoxically reduce hyperarousal in people whose brains are already running too “hot” internally.
It’s why stimulant medications calm people with ADHD, they increase the right neurotransmitters in the right areas (Faraone & Biederman, 1998). Caffeine is nowhere near as strong, but the mechanism is similar enough to matter.
So instead of spiralling during social interactions, caffeine nudges your brain into a regulated state where words come easier and everything feels less threatening.
Some Neurodivergent Brains Process Adenosine Differently
Adenosine is the chemical that makes you feel sleepy.
Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors.
In neurotypical brains: blocking adenosine = alertness.
In some neurodivergent brains: blocking adenosine = decrease in mental fatigue → which can feel like relief, not stimulation.
The result:
Calm energy
Focused relaxation
Less overwhelm
Caffeine Has a Mild Stimulant Effect… and Some of Us Actually Need That
Some ND brains need more stimulation to regulate themselves, not less. This is called under-arousal. For people who experience this, stimulation actually creates calm, the nervous system finally feels “just right.”
This shows up in ADHD, autism, and sensory seeking behaviours.
So caffeine acting like a soothing cup of chamomile tea?Not weird.Not unhealthy.Just neuroscience doing its thing.
Why This Matters for My Work
Everything I create and do within my business is built around one truth:
Neurodivergent brains aren't “wrong.” They just work differently.
Understanding these differences helps us design better tools, create better environments, and stop blaming ourselves for things that are literally biological.
If caffeine calms you, or helps you speak more clearly, or stops you feeling overwhelmed before a meeting…
There’s nothing wrong with you.
Your brain just runs a different operating system.
And there’s science to back it.
References
Del Campo, N., Fryer, T. D., Hong, Y. T., Smith, R., Brichard, L., Acosta-Cabronero, J., ... & Rubia, K. (2013). Dopamine neurotransmission in ADHD. Brain, 136(8), 2569–2579.
Faraone, S. V., & Biederman, J. (1998). Neurobiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 44(10), 951–958.
Nehlig, A. (2010). Is caffeine a cognitive enhancer? Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 20(s1), S85–S94.
Paval, D. (2017). A dopamine hypothesis of autism spectrum disorder. Developmental Neuroscience, 39(5), 355–360.
Smith, A. (2002). Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 40(9), 1243–1255.
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