Caffeine: How Long it Lasts, How Much & Withdrawals

Caffeine is a food additive and stimulant found in coffee, tea, chocolate, some medications, energy drinks and soda. It can relieve fatigue, ... ComingtoaClevelandCliniclocation?Visitation,maskrequirementsandCOVID-19information Home / HealthLibrary / Articles Caffeine:HowtoHackItandHowtoQuitIt Caffeineisacommonstimulantfoundinyourfavoritesodas,coffees,teas,energydrinksandmore.Ifusedwisely,caffeineisatoolthatcanhelpyouwakeupandconcentrate.Itwillincreaseyourenergyanddecreaseyourfatigue.Useitirresponsiblyandyoumayfindyourselfdependentonit,orexperiencingheadachesandinsomnia. Appointments&Access ContactUs Whatiscaffeine? Caffeineisthestimulantinyourcoffee,tea,chocolateandsodathatreducestiredness,increasesalertnessandgivesyouaboostofenergy.Itcanalsocauseinsomnia,headaches,dehydrationandhighbloodpressure,ifyou’renotcareful.Formany,caffeineisatooltohelpthemwakeup,perkupandconcentrate.Hackitsbenefits,anditcanhelpyougetthroughtheday. Caffeineisawhite,bittersubstancethat’sfoundnaturallyinover60plants,includingcoffeebeans,tealeavesandcacaopodsthatareusedtomakechocolate.TheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)considerscaffeinetobebothafoodadditiveandadrug. Theamountofcaffeineinyourfoodanddrinkvaries.Forcoffeeandtea,theamountofcaffeinepercupdependsonthebrand,thetypeofbeansorleavesused,howitispreparedandhowlongitsteeps.Coffeecanhaveaslittleastwomilligramsofcaffeine(decafcoffee)percup,andasmuchas200milligramspercup.Yourtypicalteahasabout40milligramsofcaffeine,butitcanrangefromnineto110milligrams.Twelveouncesofsodapop/softdrinkusuallyhas30to60milligramsofcaffeine.Eightouncesofanenergydrinkhasbetween50and160. Whateffectdoescaffeinehaveonthebody? Caffeinepassesintoyourbloodstreamfromyourstomachandsmallintestine.Onceinyourbloodstream,caffeinestimulatesyourcentralnervoussystem–yournerves,brainandspinalcord–tomakeyoufeelmoreawakeandalert.Caffeinereducesfatigueandimprovesfocusandconcentration.Italsocausesthereleaseofacidinthestomach,andyoumighthaveheartburnorindigestionafterconsumingcaffeine. Whenyoudrinkoreatcaffeine,thedopaminesignalinginyourbrainisenhanced.Dopamineisachemicalthathelpswithcontrollingmotivation,emotionsandmovement.Youfeelmorealertandawakewhenthesignalingincreases. Howmuchcaffeineistoomuch? TheaverageAmericanadultconsumes200mgofcaffeineaday.Thisistheequivalentoftwofiveouncecupsofcoffeeorfour12ouncecolas.Consumingupto400mgorfourcupsofcoffeedoesnotcauseproblemsformostpeople.But,caffeineaffectspeopledifferently,dependingontheirsize,genderandsensitivitytoit.Ifyou’resensitivetocaffeine,evenmoderateamountscancauseinsomnia(troublesleeping),rapidheartrate,anxietyandfeelingsofrestlessness.Healthandnutritionexpertsagreethatconsumingmorethan600mgofcaffeineaday(equivalentoffourtosevencupsofcoffee)istoomuch. Whatarethesymptomsofhavingtoomuchcaffeine? Symptomsofhavingtoomuchcaffeinemayinclude: Headache,nervousness,dizziness. Having“thejitters”orfeelingshaky. Insomniaorsleepthatis“onandoff”throughoutthenight. Racingheartorabnormalheartbeat. Increaseinbloodpressure. Dehydration. Whoshouldavoidcaffeine? It’snotsafeforeveryonetohavecaffeineintheirdiet.Askyourhealthcareproviderhowmuchisokforyouruniquebody.Youmaywanttoavoidcaffeineifyou: Haveanysleepdisorder,likeinsomnia. HaveulcersorGERD. Arepregnant. Arebreastfeeding. Havemigrainesorchronicheadaches. Havehighbloodpressure. Takecertainstimulants,antibiotics,asthmamedicinesandheartmedicines.Thesemedicationscanhaveinteractionswithcaffeine. Areachildorteenager. Haveanxiety. Haveafastorirregularheartbeat. Iscaffeineaddictive? Manypeopledevelopatoleranceforcaffeine.Thismeansthatyourbodyadjustsandgetsusedtohavingcaffeineeveryday.Overtime,youmightfindthatyoumustkeepincreasingyourcaffeineintaketoachievethedesiredeffectsofalertnessandabilitytoconcentrate. Yourbodycanhaveadependenceoncaffeine,butit’snottechnicallyanaddiction.Itraisesdopamine,butthelevelissmall.Illegalstimulantslikemethamphetamine(“meth”)andMDMA(“ecstasy”or“molly”)causeahugesurgethatmesseswiththerewardcircuitsinyourbrain.Youget“addicted”toecstasy,and“dependent”oncaffeine. Howlongdoescaffeinelastinthehumanbody? Theeffectsofcaffeinecanbefeltassoonas15minutesafteritisconsumed.Thelevelofcaffeineinyourbloodpeaksaboutonehourlaterandstaysatthislevelforseveralhoursformostpeople.Sixhoursaftercaffeineisconsumed,halfofitisstillinyourbody.Itcantakeupto10hourstocompletelyclearcaffeinefromyourbloodstream. Howiscaffeineusedinmedications? Caffeineisacommoningredientinmanyprescriptionandover-the-counterheadacheremedies,painrelieversandcoldmedicines.Throughcaffeine’seffectsonyourcentralnervoussystem,ithelpsthesedrugsactmoreeffectively.Ithelpsyourbodyabsorbheadachemedicinesquicker. Ifyouareconcernedaboutyourcaffeineintake,readtheproductlabelonover-the-countermedicationsortheinformationsheetthatcomeswithyourprescriptionstodeterminewhetheramedicationcontainscaffeine.TheFDArequiresthatthemedicationlabelslisttheamountofcaffeinetheycontain. Caffeineisalsofoundinsomeherbalproductsthatpeopletakeassupplements,includingguarana,yerbamate,kolanutandgreenteaextract.Theseproductsarenotrequiredbylawtoshowtheircaffeinecontentonthelabel,andthereisnosetstandardforcaffeinecontent. Whataresometipsforquittingcaffeine? Cutdownslowlyontheamountofcaffeineinyourdiet.Don’tmakethemistakeofstoppingtotally.You’lllikelyexperiencewithdrawalsymptomsandgobacktodrinkingcoffeeorsodaortakingaheadachemedicationwithcaffeineinittomakethesymptomsdisappear.Thisstartsthedependencycyclealloveragain.Avoidingthewithdrawalsymptomsisoneofthemostcommonreasonswhypeoplecontinuetheircaffeinehabit. Tosuccessfullyreduceyourcaffeineintake,graduallyreducetheamountofcoffee,tea,sodaandenergydrinksyouhaveeachday.Begintosubstitutecoldcaffeinatedbeverageswithwater.Waterisahealthychoiceandsatisfiestheneedfordrinkingaliquid.Wateralsonaturallyflushescaffeinefromyourbodyandkeepsyouhydrated. Ifyouareacoffeedrinker,graduallyswitchfromregularcoffeetodecaf.Firstalternatebetweendecafandregular,thenslowlychangetomoredecafandtaperoffregularcoffee.Graduallyreducingyourcaffeineconsumptionoveraperiodoftwotothreeweekswillhelpyousuccessfullychangeyourhabitwithoutcausingwithdrawalsymptoms. Whatarethesymptomsofcaffeinewithdrawal? Ifyouhavedevelopedadependenceoncaffeine,anabruptcutbackcancausewithdrawalsymptomsthatmayinclude: Headaches. Tiredness. Difficultyconcentrating. Nausea. Musclepain. Irritability. Ingeneral,themorecaffeineyouareusedtoconsuming,themoreseverethewithdrawalsymptomsarelikelytobe.Symptomsofwithdrawalbegin12to24hoursafterthelastcaffeineintakeandcanlasttwotoninedays. Caffeinecanbeausefultoolforanadultwhoneedshelpwakingupandconcentrating.But,itcanalsocauseproblemsifyou’renotcarefulwithit.Don’tusecaffeinetoomuchoryoucouldbecomedependentorhaveinsomniaorheadaches.Otherwise,enjoythatcoffeeorchocolate! 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