Do I Have a Caffeine Addiction? - Healthline

If you drink coffee or beverages that contain caffeine every day, you may suffer from caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Read on to learn about the symptoms of ... HealthConditionsFeaturedBreastCancerIBDMigraineMultipleSclerosis(MS)RheumatoidArthritisType2DiabetesSponsoredTopicsArticlesAcidRefluxADHDAllergiesAlzheimer's&DementiaBipolarDisorderCancerCrohn'sDiseaseChronicPainCold&FluCOPDDepressionFibromyalgiaHeartDiseaseHighCholesterolHIVHypertensionIPFOsteoarthritisPsoriasisSkinDisordersandCareSTDsDiscoverWellnessTopicsNutritionFitnessSexualHealthMen'sHealthWomen'sHealthMentalHealthSleepOriginalSeriesFreshFoodFastDiagnosisDiariesYou’reNotAlonePresentTenseVideoSeriesYouthinFocusHealthyHarvestNoMoreSilenceFutureofHealthPlanHealthChallengesMindfulEatingSugarSavvyMoveYourBodyGutHealthMoodFoodsAlignYourSpineFindCarePrimaryCareMentalHealthOB-GYNDermatologistsNeurologistsCardiologistsOrthopedistsLifestyleQuizzesWeightManagementAmIDepressed?AQuizforTeensAreYouaWorkaholic?HowWellDoYouSleep?Tools&ResourcesHealthNewsFindaDietFindHealthySnacksDrugsA-ZHealthA-ZConnectFindYourBezzyCommunityBreastCancerInflammatoryBowelDiseasePsoriaticArthritisMigraineMultipleSclerosisPsoriasisFollowusonsocialmediaShopProductsbyConditionInsomniaStressReliefBackPainNeckPainSleepApneaHotSleepersAllergiesPainReliefProductReviewsVitamins&SupplementsSleepMentalHealthNutritionAt-HomeTestingCBDMen’sHealthWomen’sHealthHealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectShopSubscribeNutritionHealthyEatingMealPrepVitamins&SupplementsLifestyleDietsWeightManagementConditionsProductsWhatHappensAfterICutOffCaffeine?MedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,MSN—ByChaunieBrusie—UpdatedonJuly14,2017EffectsofcaffeineSymptomsLoweryourdependenceTakeawayShareonPinterestOverviewWhenyouthinkofmorning,whatdoyoupicture?Mostlikely,it’ssomethinglikegettingreadyfortheday,fixingyourselfsomebreakfast,and,ofcourse,pouringyourmorningcupofcoffee.Formanypeople,amorningcupofcoffeeisacomfortingritualthatsignifiesthestartofanewdayandgivesthemenergytostartthatnewday.About75to80percentofpeopleintheworlddrinkcaffeinatedbeveragesregularly.IntheUnitedStates,theamountofcaffeineintakeincreasesbyage,peakinginthe50to64agegroup.Coffeeisthemainsourceofcaffeine,followedbycarbonatedsoftdrinksandteas.Allofthatcaffeinecanleadtocaffeinedependency.Althoughit’shardtopinpointanexactnumberofhowmanypeoplehavecaffeinedependency,studiesindicatethatmorethanaquarterofpeoplewhousecaffeinemetthecriterialistedontheDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders(DSM-5)SubstanceDependencelist.Ifyoudrinkcoffeeorbeveragesthatcontaincaffeineeveryday,youmaysufferfromcaffeinewithdrawalsymptoms.Readontolearnaboutthesymptomsofcaffeinewithdrawalandwhatoptionsexistforlimitingyourdependence.Caffeine’seffectonthebodyCaffeineactsasastimulanttothecentralnervoussystem.Itproducesthesame“happy”effectsinthebrainasstimulationslikeenergy,alertness,andasenseofwell-being.Someindividualsaremoresensitivetotheeffectsofcaffeine,too.Theirbrainsmaybecomemoredependentoncaffeinethanotherpeople.Becomingdependentoncaffeinecanbecausedbymanyfactors,anditalsoappearstobeinfluencedbygenetics.Readmoreaboutcaffeine’seffectsonthebody»Caffeineisassociatedwithmanysideeffects,including:sleepdisturbancesanxietydepressionstomachachesacidrefluxmuscletwitchingcardiovascularproblemsbodilypainsocialdifficultiesirritabilitynervousnessdifficultyconcentratingthoughtdisturbancesCaffeineisespeciallydangerousinadolescentsandchildren.Justlikeanyotherdrug,yourbodycangetusedtocaffeineandrequiremoreofittoproducetheeffectsthatitdidinthebeginning.Onestudyreviewfoundthatregular,highdosesofcaffeine—likebetween750to1,200mgaday—canleadtotolerance.Thecaffeinecontentofcoffeecanvarydependingonthebrandandtypeofcoffee,butatypicalcupoffiltercoffeecontainsaround95mgofcaffeinepercup.ThesymptomsofwithdrawalOneofthemosttelltalesignsofcaffeinedependencyisaninabilitytoperformdailyactivitiesoflifewithoutcaffeine.So,ifyou’reunabletofunctionwithoutyourdailycupofcoffeeinthemorningandyou“havetohaveit,”youmaybedependentoncaffeine.Youmayalsonoticeyouhaveadependenceoncaffeineifyou’vetriedtostopconsumingitandareunabletostop.Therearealsophysicalsymptomsofcaffeinewithdrawal.Accordingtosomeresearch,byfarthemostcommonsymptomisheadache,butothersymptomsofwithdrawalinclude:fatiguelowenergyandactivenessdecreasedalertnessdrowsinessoverall“badmood”anddiscontentdepressedmooddifficultyconcentratingirritabilityfeelingfoggyThephysicaleffectsofcaffeinewithdrawalcanalsoincludeflu-likesymptomslikenausea,vomiting,andmusclepainorstiffness.Thesymptomsofcaffeinewithdrawalusuallystartabout12to24hoursafternothavingcaffeine.Thepeaktimeforsymptomsoccursat20to51hoursafterforgoingcaffeine.Withdrawalcanlastfrom2to9days.HowtoloweryourdependenceoncaffeineAreviewofthestudiesoncaffeineconsumptionhavefoundthatpeoplewhoareseverelydependentoncaffeinehaven’tfoundalotoftreatmentoptionsavailabletothemprofessionally.Thefirststepistospeakwithyourdoctoraboutreducingyourcaffeinedependence.Youcanalsotrythesestepstoloweryourdependenceoncaffeine:Increaseyourwaterintake.Replaceonecaffeinedrinkadaywithacaffeine-freeoption.Forexample,ifyounormallydrinkthreecupsofcoffeeinthemorning,tryswappingoneofthoseforanherbalteaorhotwaterwithlemon.Incorporateexerciseintoyourdailyroutine.It’sanaturalstimulantforyourbodyandcentralnervoussystem.TakeawayIfyoususpectthatyoumayhavecaffeinedependency,don’tworry—you’redefinitelynotalone.Manypeoplearetoodependentoncaffeine.Beingawareofitisthefirststepifyouwanttochangeyourhabits.Therearemanylifestylechangesyoucanmake,likeswitchingoutjustonecaffeinedrinkforacaffeine-freeoption.Trywaterorherbaltea,forexample,orcutbackonyourintakeeveryotherday.LastmedicallyreviewedonJune22,20178sourcescollapsedHealthlinehasstrictsourcingguidelinesandreliesonpeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicalassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.AndersonBL,etal.(2012).Behavior,sleep,andproblematiccaffeineconsumptioninacollege-agedsample.DOI:doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2012.0009FraryCD,etal.(2005).FoodsourcesandintakesofcaffeineinthedietsofpersonsintheUnitedStates.DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2004.10.027JulianoLM,etal.(2004).Acriticalreviewofcaffeinewithdrawal:Empiricalvalidationofsymptomsandsigns,incidence,severity,andassociatedfeatures.DOI:doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-xMayoClinicStaff.(2017).Nutritionandhealthyeating:Caffeine:Howmuchistoomuch? mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678McCuskerRR,etal.(2003).Caffeinecontentofspecialtycoffees.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14607010McGregorTJ,etal.(2016).Anovelmethodforassessingcaffeinedependence.DOI:doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2015.0017MeredithSE,etal.(2013).Caffeineusedisorder:Acomprehensivereviewandresearchagenda.DOI:dx.doi.org/10.1089%2Fjcr.2013.0016StrileyCLW,etal.(2011).Evaluatingdependencecriteriaforcaffeine.DOI:doi.org/10.1089/jcr.2011.0029FEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,MSN—ByChaunieBrusie—UpdatedonJuly14,2017Readthisnext8SymptomsofCaffeineWithdrawalByJillianKubala,MS,RDCaffeinewithdrawalcanaffectanyonewhoregularlyconsumescaffeine.Hereare8commonsignsofcaffeinewithdrawal,aswellaswaystominimize…READMORETheEffectsofCaffeineonYourBodyMedicallyreviewedbyNatalieOlsen,R.D.,L.D.,ACSMEP-CCaffeinecankickstartyoursenseswithin15minutes.Seeexactlywhatcaffeinedoestoyourbodywiththisinteractivegraphic.READMOREAreCoffeeandCaffeineAddictive?ACriticalLookByAlinaPetre,MS,RD(NL)Caffeineisthemostcommonlyused"drug"intheworld,butarecoffeeandcaffeineaddictiveordangerous?Hereisacompletereview.READMOREDelta-8THC:ExpertsWarnThatNotAllCannabisAlternativesAreSafeDelta-8THCproductsarewidelyavailableandlegalinall50U.S.states.Despitetheirpopularity,adversereactionstodelta-8havebeenreported…READMOREPeopleRespondDifferentlytoPsychedelicDrugs—GeneticsCouldBeOneReasonStudieshaveshownaroundone-thirdofpeoplewithmentalhealthconditionslikedepressiondon'trespondtopsychedelic-assistedtreatment…READMORESafeSmokingKits:Here'sWhatTheyAreandHowTheyHelpHere’swhat’sinsafesmokingkitsliketheonesbeingdistributedbytheBidenadministration,whycertainitemsareincluded,andhowtheyreduce…READMOREAlcoholandCannabisareTopReasonsPeopleSeekSubstanceMisuseTreatmentTheCDCreportedthat2019trendsinsubstanceusetreatment,showalcoholandcannabiswerethetoptwodrugspeoplesoughttreatmentfor.READMOREHowLongDoShroomsStayinYourSystem?MedicallyreviewedbyAlyssaPeckham,PharmD,BCPPShroomsdon'thangaroundinyourbodyforverylong,buttheexacttimingdependsonafewmajorfactors.Learnhowlongtheeffectslast.READMOREHowLongDoesAcidLast?WhattoExpectMedicallyreviewedbyAlyssaPeckham,PharmD,BCPPLysergicaciddiethylamide(LSD),oracid,isapotent,long-lastingpsychoactivedrug.Youmaybegintofeelitseffectswithin20to90minutesof…READMORE