Caffeine is one of the most consumed stimulants worldwide, and you get it in coffee, tea, cocoa, and soda. Drinking a lot of caffeine can result in addiction, which is technically a dependence. Caffeine addiction side effects include dehydration, high blood pressure, insomnia, and headaches.
Caffeine is a bitter white substance occurring in over 60 plants, including cocoa pods, coffee beans, and tea leaves.
Is caffeine a drug? The FDA classifies caffeine as a drug and food additive.
Various factors determine the amount of caffeine in food and drink. How long you steep coffee or tea, the type of beans and leaves used, and the brand and preparation method determine the caffeine amount in a cup.
Regular coffee has as much as 200 mg of caffeine per cup, while decaf has 2mg per cup.
Tea has, on average, 40 mg of caffeine, ranging between 9mg to 110mg. Soda can contain 30 to 60mg of caffeine per 12 ounces.
Energy drinks have between 50 and 160 mg of caffeine per eight ounces.
How Caffeine Affects The Body
Other than caffeine addiction side effects, there is the way caffeine affects the body that is positive when you are not dependent on it.
When you ingest caffeine, it passes into the body through the small intestines. Caffeine in the bloodstream acts as a stimulant to your central nervous system. It makes you feel awake and alert reduces fatigue, and improves focus and concentration. It also causes an acid release in the stomach, which improves digestion.
Dopamine signaling is improved in your mind when you take in caffeine. The brain chemical dopamine is involved in movement, emotions, and motivation.
Caffeine is associated with many positive side effects. The plant-derived stimulant’s positive side effects include improved mood, headache relief, and reduced risks of Parkinson’s, stroke, and Alzheimer’s.
Negative Effect Of Caffeine On Your Health
There are various adverse effects that caffeine can have on your body. Plenty of caffeine in the body has been associated with increased blood pressure and irregular heart rhythm.
Caffeine consumption has also been associated with osteoporosis in women in menopause. It can also affect your sleep by causing insomnia if consumed within six hours before bedtime.
Caffeine Addiction Side Effects
Caffeine overconsumption can have adverse side effects. Caffeine addiction symptoms include the following,
- Increased blood pressure
- Racing heart, or other heartbeat abnormalities
- Sleep issues
- Feeling shaky or having the jitters
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nervousness
- Dehydration.
- Insomnia or on-and-off sleep throughout the night.
Over-dependence on caffeine or caffeine addiction can overlap with work addiction.
Caffeine has pleasurable effects, and its use may cover up other underlying issues such as depression or low energy.
Others may rely on caffeine to compensate for sleep disorders.
Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms
Cutting down on caffeine can cause withdrawal symptoms or side effects. Here are a few side effects of caffeine withdrawal.
Anxiety
Coffee stimulates the CNS, causing an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. People sensitive to coffee can feel jittery because of one cup of coffee.
Consuming caffeine a lot may cause anxiety, and withdrawing coffee may cause the same feelings of anxiety.
A person can become psychologically and physically dependent on caffeine, which is what causes feelings of anxiety.
Do note that withdrawal worsens the anxiety if you get your caffeine from a sugar-sweetened drink such as coffee or soda. Animal studies showed that sudden withdrawal of sugar from the diet caused anxiety.
Fatigue
For many people, the daily cup of coffee in the morning provides an energy boost. Adenosine is the neurotransmitter that makes you feel drowsy. Caffeine works by blocking the action of this brain chemical, which increases feelings of alertness and boosts energy.
Removing caffeine from your diet can leave you feeling drowsy and fatigued most of the time. Caffeine withdrawal symptoms can manifest in as little as twelve hours. This implies that caffeine withdrawal symptoms may be present after a night’s sleep.
Caffeine only energizes you for four to six hours after being consumed, so taking more of it during the day is necessary to maintain energy.
This could lead to overconsumption of caffeine, mainly if other problems include poor sleep and low energy. Overusing caffeine could lead to dependence, where more and more is consumed to achieve the same desired effect.
Headaches
This is the most commonly reported of caffeine addiction side effects.
When you consume caffeine and it enters the bloodstream, it causes the blood vessels in the brain to constrict, slowing blood flow. A study done in 2009 showed that this slowing of blood flow to the brain is as much as 27% after consuming about 250 mg of caffeine.
When there is caffeine withdrawal, blood vessels open up, causing plenty of blood flow to the brain. This sudden flow of blood to the brain can cause severe headaches.
The headaches vary in severity as the brain adjusts to increased blood flow. They subside when the body adjusts to the increase in blood flow.
Not all experts agree that the above theory is true, so more research is needed. Caffeine is used to treat certain headaches like migraines. It relieves headaches when consumed and enhances the power of pain-killing medications.
Depressed Mood
Caffeine is well known for its mood-boosting property. This quality comes from its action of blocking adenosine, which also improves alertness. Studies have shown that those who often consume coffee have a lower risk of depression.
Studies have also shown that consuming regular coffee causes improvement in mood after thirty minutes. Those who drank decaf in the study did not experience any mood lift.
Do Note, however, that many people with depression may have an addiction to caffeine because it lifts the mood shortly after consumption. Consuming caffeinated beverages in large quantities may not be advisable to avoid depression. Caffeine addiction may bring on depression.
According to a 2008 study, the stimulant effect of caffeine may lead to feelings of well-being that go away when caffeine is withdrawn.
Concentration Difficulties
One of the reasons caffeinated drinks are taken in large quantities is to boost concentration. Withdrawal of caffeine can result in concentration difficulties.
Caffeine raises the levels of the hormone adrenaline in the body. Your body releases Adrenaline in the body as a reaction to stress.
The hormone also enhances the action of the brain chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine, excitatory neurotransmitters. The combined effect of caffeine is to stimulate the brain, increase blood pressure and raise the heart rate.
This effect results in improved alertness and improves focus. Caffeinated drinks are regularly consumed before athletics, tests, and presentation as they improve focus.
If you go without caffeine, you may experience difficulty concentrating as your body struggles to function without caffeine.
Low Energy
The most common reason people consume caffeinated foods and beverages is to improve their energy levels.
Unhealthy diets, demanding jobs, and inadequate sleep are among the lifestyle factors that can cause low energy resulting in a person turning to other energy sources like caffeine.
Caffeinated beverages deliver the energy required to make it through the day or to compensate for lack of sleep. A mug of coffee or a can of energy drink increases blood sugar levels and heart rate and improves concentration, all of which lead to feeling more energetic, physically and mentally.
These positive effects of caffeine can lead to wanting more and more to achieve the same energy levels. This is referred to as problematic caffeine dependency.
When you reduce or eliminate caffeine, you experience feelings of low energy.
Tremors
This is the least common of caffeine withdrawal symptoms. It affects those who habitually overconsume caffeinated drinks and attempt to withdraw cold turkey.
These tremors last only 2 to 9 days and affect only the hands. If the tremors last more than 9 days, consult a doctor.
Irritability
Many caffeine consumers are usually irritable and on edge in the morning before getting their daily coffee or tea fix.
Because caffeine lasts in the body for up to 8 hours, withdrawal symptoms can occur after a night’s sleep.
Many addicted to caffeine experience moodiness and irritability when they miss their caffeine fix in the morning.
A study showed that many dependent on caffeine desired to reduce their intake, but caffeine addiction side effects like irritability made it challenging.
Caffeine Addiction Resemblance To Other Disorders
Caffeine has a stimulating effect that may produce symptoms that resemble and may thus be confused with other disorders. Be sure to inform your mental health practitioner of your caffeine consumption if you are being tested for mental health disorders.
Caffeine intoxication can be confused for panic attacks and other anxiety disorders. Too much caffeine can cause too much worry, and racing thoughts, increase heart rate, and prevent good sleep and relaxation, all of which worsen symptoms of other disorders.
Caffeine overconsumption can also result in symptoms like those of the following conditions.
- Manic episodes
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- ADHD
- Sinus conditions
- Panic disorder
- Migraine and other headaches
- Sleep disorders
- Viral illnesses
- Side effects induced by medications, for instance, an inability to sit still or akathisia
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms closely resemble mood disorders and are similar to withdrawal from more dangerous substances such as cocaine and amphetamines. Stimulant drugs are often used with caffeine, so eliminating the drugs also involves caffeine withdrawal.
Caffeine overconsumption can also produce other disorders like anxiety and sleep disorders.
Health Risks Of Caffeine Addiction
Other than caffeine addiction side effects, no health risks are associated with caffeine consumption in otherwise healthy adults. The risks are more associated with caffeine overdose.
The other risk involves drinks containing caffeine, energy drinks, and colas, which contain large amounts of white sugar.
White sugar has been associated with tooth decay, obesity, adult onset type 2 diabetes, and contributes to heart disease.
Energy drinks are loaded with sugar even though they contain the same amount of caffeine as coffee.
Caffeine Addiction Side Effects Help
Many people who overuse caffeine may want to cut back on overconsumption but are discouraged when they try to cut back and get caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms last between 2 and 9 days and peak 24 to 51 hours after caffeine withdrawal. But though the symptoms are usually short-lived, they can make life difficult.
Quitting cold turkey is not feasible for most people. Here are some tips that can help reduce caffeine withdrawal symptoms so that you can eliminate caffeine quickly.
- Stay hydrated. Dehydration worsens caffeine withdrawal symptoms such as low energy and headaches. Stay hydrated by drinking enough water when cutting out caffeine. Water also helps flush caffeine out of your system.
- Fight fatigue naturally. Natural sources of energy that you can tap when your energy levels are down include exercise, stress reduction techniques, and eating nutrient-dense foods.
- Sleep about 7 to 9 hours each night. This helps to fight fatigue.
- Reduce caffeinated drinks. Swap your coffee drink for half regular, half decaf, and reduce caffeine intake. You can do better and change one of your traditional coffee drinks with decaf herbal drinks.
- Quite slowly. Quitting cold turkey can shock your body to produce unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, which many people find intolerable. Reducing your intake by 10% every two weeks is the surest way to cut back without unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
Generally speaking, the more caffeine you consume, the worse the withdrawal symptoms are when you try to cut it out.
Caffeine addiction is so common that many do not notice its adverse effects. However, when you cut back because of its negative impact, you can naturally relax and be energetic.