You Know You Love Coffee, But When Does It Become Too Much?

Coffee, the glorious Black Liquid. It is crucial to most of my mornings, giving me a kick start of the day.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants, and contains the stimulant caffeine which is what give us the energy boost.

But there are times when I over indulged, and it leads to rising anxiety…and hard to fall asleep at night.

The next day I feel tired and need more coffee to stay alert, creating a vicious cycle.

How Caffeine Works (according to science)

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, meaning it stimulates our nervous system.

It is found in coffee, as well as other products like tea, chocolate, and energy drinks.

Their caffeine content comes in varying amount. And they all added to our daily limit.

The FDA cited a 400mg a day as an amount that is generally safe. This means the limits can be slightly higher or lower depending on everyone’s sensitivity.

FYI, a cup(250ml) of Brewed Black Coffee can contain anywhere around ~90mg of Caffeine. So four cups would be around the recommended limits.

How Caffeine keeps us awake

Here’s a simpler explanation taken from the sleepeducation.org. Caffeine is a stimulant which acts as an “adenosine receptor antagonist.”

Adenosine is a substance in your body that promotes sleepiness. Caffeine blocks the adenosine receptor to keep you from feeling sleepy.

Effects of Caffeine differs among individual

The effect of caffeine is pretty fast, and reaches it peak within one hour after consumption.

It’s alert effect of coffee can be felt as soon as 30 minutes. And when drank sweetened can be as fast as 10-20 minutes.

Caffeine has an average half life of 6 hours, meaning only half of it is remove from our body around that time.

It is important to note that the effects of caffeine can differs among individuals, with some able to take in more than 400mg a day and still be safe.

I have a friend swear he cannot have even a single cup of coffee even in the morning as it will keep them up till late night.

When Coffee Becomes Counterproductive

Just as it has it positive effects which is explored in this post, overindulgence of coffee will leads to these negative effects.

Signs of Overdosing on Coffee

• Anxiety and irritability
• Sleep disturbances and difficulty falling asleep
• Headaches (mostly withdrawal headaches)
• Muscle tremors and restlessness (jittery)
• Uncomfortable stomach

Find Your Balance in Coffee Drinking

Pay a little more attention to the effect of how your body respond to the morning coffee.

What you can do is practice mindfulness, and take note of the positive and negative changes you experienced before and afterwards.

Tracking your Coffee Intake

As we discussed earlier, four cups of brewed coffee can take you up to the recommended limit.

Try to keep track of the cups of coffee you had before the adverse effects shows up.

For example, when I had my 3rd cup of the day it usually brings up the restlessness and anxiety welling up when it crashes.

So know your limits and aim to go below them so you can reap the most benefits from coffee drinking.

Gradually decrease Caffeine intake

Quitting cold turkey is difficult and very unproductive for some people.

Awhile ago I tried doing a 7-day detox, my productivity suffered from the withdrawal effects.

You can go slow, decrease one cup per day until you acclimate to the lower daily dosage, then move on.

And when you can get by with just one cup per day, its easier to mitigate the withdrawal symptoms.

Low Caffeine Options for Assist in Curbing

Another method to help you manage cutting caffeine is by going for low caffeine option.

Drinks like brewed tea contains only half of the caffeine, some even less compared to coffee.

This had help me reduce coffee craving when I’m trying to control its limit.

Power Nap Works for Cutting Caffeine

For those who can, take a quick shut eye in the afternoon, just 10-20 minutes will do wonder.

Short naps can be a natural remedy for short-term alertness. Giving us some extra boost without the need of coffee.

Conclusion

Coffee is an important part of today’s lifestyle. It presents us with several benefits but drinking in moderation would allow us to reap these benefits without the downsides.

Less anxiety and jittery is one of the best benefit I’ve gained since watching my coffee intake.

If you’re feeling extra anxious or stressful during your evening, it may have been the third or forth cup of coffee. Try using the tips mentioned above and slowly decrease your coffee intake starting today.

References

1. Sleep Education. (2023, October 26). Sleep and Caffeine | Benefits and Risks | Sleep Education. Retrieved from https://sleepeducation.org/sleep-caffeine/
2. Nehlig, A., Daval, J. L., & Debry, G. (1992). Caffeine and the central nervous system: mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic and psychostimulant effects. Brain research. Brain research reviews, 17(2), 139–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0173(92)90012-b