Substance Use: Caffeine - My Health Alberta

It's a stimulant that's found in many types of pain and cold medicine as well as in foods and drinks. Some common products with caffeine and the amounts of ... ALL MyHealth.Alberta.caNetwork HomeHealthInformationandToolsMyHealthVideosFindHealthcareAboutMyHealth.Alberta.caHealthierTogether MyHealthRecords HealthA-ZHealthyLivingTests&TreatmentsMedicationsFindHealthcarePatientCareHandouts MyHealth.Alberta.ca HealthInformationandTools > HealthA-Z >  CommonDrugs:Caffeine MainContent RelatedtoCaffeineSubstanceUseSubstanceUseProblemsDrugUseandYourHealthCaffeineDuringPregnancy ALL BarbituratesCaffeineGravolMagicMushroomsOpioidsPCPRitalin SubstanceUse:CommonDrugs Caffeine PageContent​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Manypeopledon’trealizethatcaffeineisadrug.It’sastimulantthat'sfoundinmanytypesofpainandcoldmedicineaswellasinfoodsanddrinks.  Somecommonproductswithcaffeineandtheamountsofcaffeineare: coffee(250mLor1cup):40to180mgdecaf(250mLor1cup):2to5mgtea(250mLor1cup):10to110mgOtherproductsthathavecaffeineinclude:​stimulants(1tablet):100to250mgenergyshotsordrinks(60to360mL​):4to240mgpainkillers(1tablet):30to100mgcoladrinks(355mLor12oz.):30to60mgdarkchocolate(56gor2oz.):40to70mgmilkchocolate(56gor2oz.):3to20mgSnackswithcaffeine(forexample,gum,fruitchews,jellybeans):30to50 mgWhataretheshort-termeffects?Theeffectsofcaffeineusuallystartwithin5to30minutesandcanlastfrom8to12hours.Lessthan200mgofcaffeine(1or2cupsofcoffee)canmakeyoumorealert,putyouinabettermood,andmakeyoufeellesstired.Itcanalsoimprovephysicalworkandyourthinking.Smallamountsofcaffeinemightmakeyourbloodpressuretogoup,increaseyourheartrate,andmakeyoupassurinemore.Ifyouhavecaffeinebeforebed,itcanmakeithardertofallasleep.Youmightsleepforashortertimeornotasdeep.Olderadultsmayhavetheirsleepaffectedbycaffeinemorethanyoungeradults.Largeramountsofcaffeine(600mgormore)can:causeshakingmakeyouhavetroublesleepingmakeyouveryagitatedcauseafast,irregularheartbeat(mightfeellikeyourheartisracing)makeyoufeelirritable,restless,andnervousPeoplewhohavepanicattacksshouldn’tuselargeamountsofcaffeine.Theymightbemoresensitivetoitseffectsanditcantriggernervousnessandanxiety.It'srareforadultstodiefromacaffeineoverdose.Youwouldhavetoinjectatleast3.9gofcaffeineorswallowabout10g.However,childrencandiefromaslittleas1gramofcaffeine.Someproductswithcaffeinehavehigherthantherecommendeddosesofcaffeineforchildrenandteens(forexample,someenergydrinks),sousingthemmaycausehealthorbehaviourproblems.Caffeinecanbeusedtotreatsometypesofheadaches,includingmigraines.Someover-the-counterpainmedicinecontainscaffeine.Yourdoctorcantellyouifcaffeinemightworkforyou.Caffeinedoesn’tdecreaseyourappetitesothere'snopointinusingittodietordecreaseyourhunger.Caffeinedoesn’thelpyousoberupifyouaredrunk.Mixingcaffeineandalcoholincreasesyourchancesofdrinkinganddrivingorgettingintoavehiclewithsomeonewhohasbeendrinking.Thiscouldleadtoyou orsomeonebeinghurtorkilled.Youmightnotrealizehowdrunktheyareandthecaffeineorenergydrinkmightmaskthedrowsinessrelatedtothedrinking.Youmightalsodrinkmorethannormalifyoucombinealcoholandcaffeine(energydrinks).Themoreyoualcoholyoudrinkthehighertheriskthatyoumaypassoutorsufferanalcoholrelatedinjury. Whatarethelong-termeffects?Mosthealthyadultsthatuselowtomoderateamountsofcaffeine(upto3cupsofcoffee)everydaydon’tseemtohaveanylonglasting effects.Somewomenwhodrink (morethan3cupsaday)maybeatriskofbonefractures(especiallyinthehips)astheygetolder.Regularuseofmorethan600mgofcaffeine mightcausetheshort-termeffectslistedabove.Long-termeffectsatthislevelmayincludechronicinsomnia,constantanxiety,depression,andstomachproblems.Itcanalsocausehighbloodpressureormakehighbloodpressureworse.Morethan300mgofcaffeine(about2to3cupsofcoffee)inadaymaybelinkedtomiscarriagesandlow-birthweightbabies.Caffeineis passedthroughbreastmilk,whichmightmakeyour babyirritableorhavetroublesleeping.Ifyou're pregnantorbreastfeedingyoumaywanttolimitornothaveanycaffeine.CaffeineandYoungPeopleSomeproductswithcaffeine,likesomeenergydrinks,havehigherthantherecommendeddosesofcaffeineforchildrenandteens.Usingthemforthisagegroupmaycausehealthorbehaviourproblems.Caffeinecanaffectchildrenandteensdifferentlythanadults.Becausetheirbodiesaresmaller,whatisanormalamountofcaffeineforanadultmayhaveastrongereffectonachild.Childrenwhodrinkpoporenergydrinkswithcaffeinemightfeelanxious,beirritable,havetroublesleeping,orwetthebed.​Someteenswhousealotofcaffeinemay havehealthproblemslikeanincreasedorabnormalheartrateorchestpain.Ifthishappens,theymayhavetogotothehospitalorneedanambulance.Collegeanduniversit​ystudentsmightharmtheirhealthbyusinglotsofcaffeinatedproducts(suchascoffee,energydrinks,caffeinepills)tokeepthemawakesotheycanstudylonger.Largeamountsofcaffeineforalongperiodoftimecanmakeyou:feelrestless,agitated,orexcitedhaveexcitedorconfusedthoughts,likeyourmindisracingtroublefallingasleepandstayingasleepLackofsleepandstressfromschoolmightmaketheseeffectsevenworse.It’simportantforstudentstofindhealthywaystomanagestressandgetenoughsleep.CaffeineandAddictionAsyourbodygetsusedtocaffeine,itneedsmoreandmoreofittogetthesameeffect(tolerance).Astheamountofcaffeinegoesup sodoestheriskofsideeffects.Youcanbecomemildlydependentoncaffeinefromre​gularlydrinking350mg(about2to4cupsofcoffee)aday.Youmightfeellikeyoucan’tfunctionwithoutit,orthatyouaren’tfullyawakeuntilyou’vehadcaffeinebecauseyourmindisgroggyorfuzzy.Ifyousuddenlystopdrinkingcaffeine,youmighthavewithdrawalsymptomslike:headachesproblemssleepingfeelingirritable,tired,anddepressedlackofenergyfeelingdownhavingtroublefocusingorconcentratingWithdrawalsymptomsbegin12to24hoursafteryoustopcaffeine.Mostsymptomsgoawaywithinafewdays.Formoreinformationandtofindanaddictionservicesofficenearyou,callthe 24-hourAddictionHelpline(Albertaonly). Barbiturates​​Gravol ​ Currentasof:August20,2019 Author:Poison&DrugInformationService,AlbertaHealthServices Thismaterialisnotasubstitutefortheadviceofaqualifiedhealthprofessional.Thismaterialisintendedforgeneralinformationonlyandisprovidedonan"asis","whereis"basis.Althoughreasonableeffortsweremadetoconfirmtheaccuracyoftheinformation,AlbertaHealthServicesdoesnotmakeanyrepresentationorwarranty,express,impliedorstatutory,astotheaccuracy,reliability,completeness,applicabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurposeofsuchinformation.AlbertaHealthServicesexpresslydisclaimsallliabilityfortheuseofthesematerials,andforanyclaims,actions,demandsorsuitsarisingfromsuchuse. Home AboutMyHealth.Alberta.ca ImportantPhoneNumbers FrequentlyAskedQuestions ContactUs Help ©2022GovernmentofAlberta. AboutMyHealth.Alberta.ca|ContactUs Terms&Conditions  |  Accessibility   |  Privacy MyHealth.Alberta.caNetwork [email protected] ​ IncludeImagesLargePrint