Caffeine is safe for most people when consumed in low to a moderate amount. However high caffeine intake may have some harmful and even dangerous side effects.
Caffeine is a stimulant that can boost your metabolism and uplifts your mood. It also helps in enhancing your physical and mental performance.
Caffeine founds in cocoa, soda, energy drinks and several types of medicines. But coffee is supposed to be one of the most concentrated sources of caffeine. It is cheap and easily available.
Let’s have a look at the harmful effects of caffeine…
High Caffeine intake can cause Sleeplessness or Insomnia:
One of the main reasons for consuming caffeine is its ability to help people stay awake. It also enhances focus and stimulates your mind to pay attention. That’s the reason people drink coffee as a pre-workout or before studying or office.
Though caffeine helps people to stay awake for some more time but high caffeine intake can make it difficult to get you proper sleep.
You may not realize that a high amount of caffeine is interfering with your sleep. So keep a count on the amount of caffeine you are taking in.
The amount of caffeine you can consume without disturbing your sleep depends on your genetics and other factors. Some people are more caffeine sensitive than others. Though the recommended dosage of caffeine for an average person is approximately 300 mg per day.
Along with the amount of caffeine, the timing of your intake of caffeine also matters a lot. Studies have shown that caffeine remains in your system for an average of five hours. The period varies from two to nine hours, depending on the individual. So don’t drink coffee or caffeinated drinks before five or six hours of sleep.
Caffeine helps to give you a mental boost during the day but high caffeine intake may interfere with your sleep. It may degrade your sleep quality and can cause insomnia.
High caffeine intake can cause Stress and Anxiety:
Adenosine is a chemical that releases in your brain that makes you feel tired. Caffeine blocks the effects of adenosine and hence increases your alertness. However, high doses of caffeine may lead to anxiety, nervousness and increase your stress level.
According to a study conducted on 25 healthy men found that those who ingested about 300 mg of caffeine experienced almost double the stress of those who just took a placebo.
So if you are feeling anxious and stressful then it will be a good idea to check your caffeine intake and cut it back.
Low to moderate amounts of caffeine helps to increase your alertness by suppressing your adenosine levels. But high doses of caffeine may increase anxiety and stress.
Caffeine makes you urinate more frequently:
Frequent urination is a common side effect of high caffeine intake. It occurs due to the stimulatory effects of caffeine on the bladder.
Caffeine is diuretic in nature. That means it removes water from your body in the form of urine. That’s why you feel increased urination after drinking coffee or caffeinated drinks.
This may also cause dehydration in some cases so increase your water intake if you drink caffeinated beverages a lot.
High caffeine intake makes you urinate more frequently. So if you are feeling that your urination is more frequent than it is a good idea to reduce your caffeine intake.
Poor digestion:
A low to moderate amount of caffeine is good for your digestive tract. That’s why some people drink black coffee early in the morning as coffee helps get their bowels moving.
Caffeine stimulates bowel movements by increasing peristalsis. It is the contractions that move food through your digestive tract. Due to this effect, a high amount of caffeine may lead to loose stools and may even cause diarrhea in some people.
Though a small amount of coffee can improve your gut mobility but higher doses of caffeine may lead to loose stools and even diarrhea in some people.
High Blood Pressure and rapid Heart Rate:
Caffeine stimulates your nervous system due to which it increases your blood pressure and fastens your heart rate. That’s the reason doctors recommend to drink coffee to people who have low blood pressure.
The effects of caffeine on heart rate don’t affect everyone equally. It varies individual to individual. Some people with heart problems may be able to tolerate a high amount of caffeine without any adverse effects.
A high dosage of caffeine increases your blood pressure and may fasten your heart rate. So if you are dealing with the problem of high blood pressure then you should concern with your caffeine intake.
Addiction:
No doubt caffeine has a lot of health benefits but you can not deny the fact that caffeine is an addictive drug. Caffeine triggers certain brain chemicals in a similar way cacaine does but caffeine is not that addicted as cocaine is.
Though caffeine does not seems to cause true addiction in a low amount. But if you regularly drink a lot of coffee, then you may become dependent on its effects and may get addicted to it.
Fatigue:
People drink coffee and other caffeine contained energy drinks for mental stimulation and to boost their energy levels. However, they can also affect the opposite way.
You feel a mental high and boosted energy levels after consuming caffeine but it can cause fatigue after it leaves your system. This occurs due to the withdrawal symptoms of caffeine.
You can continuously stay in that boosted state and avoid that rebound effect by keep consuming caffeine throughout the day. On the other and, this will degrade your sleep quality.
You may feel fatigued and laziness because of the rebound effects of caffeine. So to maximize the benefits of caffeine and to avoid its rebound effects, consume caffeine in a moderate range rather than high doses.
Conclusion
A low-to-moderate amount of caffeine provides a lot of health benefits. On the other hand, a very high dosage may lead to side effects and might even cause serious health issues.
Although responses vary from person to person. To get maximum benefits, monitor how your body is responding to caffeine and limit your intake accordingly.
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Very Helpful and informative