Coffee is seriously delicious, and it also
gives you that energy boost we could all use especially now that the
weather has been getting cooler and the days have been getting shorter
and darker. Whether we like coffee for its taste or its effects, we may
be tempted to have more than one, or two, or three cups of coffee every
day.
But coffee is also quite tricky. In moderation, it can offer several
health benefits, but overdoing it can have a negative effect on your
health and well-being. This is especially true if coffee isn’t the only
caffeinated beverage or food you’re enjoying throughout the day, as many
sodas, tea, candy, chewing gum, and even supplements can also contain
caffeine. As a result, we may pass the recommended and healthy amount of
caffeine and start experiencing symptoms of caffeine overdose.
Now, adults are recommended to have up to
400 milligrams of caffeine per day, which is equal to about 2 cups of
regular coffee, generally speaking. That said, the way your body reacts
to caffeine may be different, and you may experience symptoms of
caffeine overdose after having just one cup of coffee, or even just a
cup of black tea. How do you know that you’ve had too much caffeine? It
will be useful to look out for the 7 symptoms we list below.
1. Your stomach is upset
Most of us associate an upset stomach and
abdominal cramps with the stomach flu, spoiled food, and food-borne
illness, but research says that we should also include our morning cup
of joe in that list. A study from 2017 pointed out that the bitter taste
of coffee stimulates the production of stomach acid, which can thus
increase the acidity in your stomach and potentially cause heartburn,
acid reflux, and stomach pains.
Drinking coffee with cow's milk or
plant-based milk could help neutralize that effect, so give it a try if
coffee gives you any of the symptoms we've mentioned above. Of course,
the best way to get rid of the problem is to stop drinking coffee
altogether, so consider switching to tea, maybe?
2. Your heart is racing
A racing or fluttering heart is certainly a frightening symptom to
experience, but before you run to the doctor, think about this, have you
had any coffee a few hours prior to experiencing heart palpitations, by
any chance? If so, coffee may be the cause, as excess caffeine in the
blood may make your heart race or even make you dizzy.
And caffeine isn't the only stimulant capable of manifesting itself this
way - nicotine and alcohol, too, can likewise cause heart palpitations.
Therefore, it's advisable to cut off any of these substances if you
wish to stop experiencing this symptom.
3. You're jittery and more irritable than usual
As we've mentioned earlier, too much of a good thing is certainly not
healthy when it comes to coffee. When consumed in adequate amounts,
coffee can have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, as
it binds to the dopamine receptors in the brain, making our mood better,
increasing our alertness and focus, and even making us more motivated.
However, when the dopamine system is overstimulated by having too much
coffee, things get less optimistic and you can start feeling jittery
like you're hands are shaking and you have difficulty concentrating. In
addition, coffee in excessive amounts can also make you more irritable
than usual. It's important to watch out for these symptoms and determine
how much caffeine is right for you to be alert but not jittery and
irritated. This is true not only about drinking coffee but also other
caffeinated beverages or foods.
4. You have diarrhea
Many people drink their morning coffee because they know that coffee can
help keep them regular. Though the scientific mechanism behind this is
poorly understood, it is widely known that coffee has laxative
properties. Thus, if you have more than two or three cups of coffee a
day, which is beyond the recommended daily amount, these laxative
effects can be more pronounced and you may experience diarrhea as a
result.
The solution? Gradually dial back the amount of coffee in your diet to 2
or fewer cups a day, or none at all if the issue persists. Cutting off
the caffeine immediately isn't a good idea in most cases, though, as it
can lead to constipation and withdrawal symptoms.
5. You have a headache
Speaking of withdrawal symptoms, drinking too much coffee in the
morning, for example, and then not having any all evening can lead to
something known as a caffeine headache. These headaches are moderate to
severe and they are located on both sides of the head. The pain tends to
worsen with physical activity.
This happens because caffeine can make the blood vessels shrink, which
can actually reduce a headache and amplify the effect of pain-relief
medications according to an article from The Journal of Headache and
Pain. This is why many cold medications and pain relief drugs also
contain caffeine. However, once you stop drinking coffee, the blood
vessels in the head will dilate again, causing a headache. This pain
will continue from a few days to a week or more if you don't consume
more caffeine.
6. You can't fall asleep at the usual time
Coffee doesn't just make you more alert, it also makes you less sleepy,
as coffee blocks the adenosine receptors, which are the receptors in
your brain responsible for making you sleepy. This effect can last for
hours (the half-life of caffeine is 5 hours, after that the effect will
start slowly decreasing), which means that drinking coffee in the
afternoon can seriously mess with your sleep cycles.
Apart from causing insomnia, which is a telltale sign of excessive
coffee consumption, it can also make your sleep more sensitive or
increase the number of times you wake up at night. So, it's best to
drink your last coffee of the day at noon.
7. You're anxious
If things that you used to perceive more calmly are suddenly causing you
a lot of anxiety, your coffee habit may be to blame. And while the
process of drinking coffee may feel cozy or relaxing, the drink itself
can actually amplify or otherwise contribute to anxiety. This is
especially true in high-stress situations or difficult periods in one's
life when you're more likely to ruminate at night.
These anxiety-inducing effects were exemplified in one study where
regular coffee drinkers were given either placebo or caffeine before a
stressful task. As a result, those who had coffee displayed a higher
blood pressure, more stress hormones in their blood, and most notably,
nearly twice the self-reported stress level compared to the placebo
group. Although the sample size of the study included only men and was
quite small, it's still an important display of what coffee could be
doing to our stress levels. So, if you suffer from anxiety in general or
only occasionally, consider drinking less coffee or ideally none
whatsoever.