Caffeine seems to be everywhere these days, not just in beverages or foods.
I’ve seen it in soaps and personal hygiene items as well. It’s even in the fireplace log currently in my fireplace!
Caffeine is America’s drug of choice and it seems like the whole world is hooked as well!
More than 90% of Americans admit to regular caffeine use, and up to 30% of them ingest 600 milligrams or more each day. That’s about six cups of coffee a day!
As for what caffeine promises to deliver, it’s quite a list……
–general performance enhancement
–better calorie burning
–ability to ward off sleep
–improved athletic performance
–decreased pain and fatigue
–improved memory
–enhanced mood.
What’s interesting though, is that when asked, most users do not consume caffeine for these benefits.
They drink it to avoid the withdrawal symptoms: those agonizing headaches.
It’s easy to see why the whole world is on a caffeine binge.
Caffeine is readily available and while some of the benefits are indeed real, the problem seems to be that most people go from using it for an occasional pick-me-up to becoming dependent on it.
As their tolerance to caffeine increases, withdrawal symptoms increase in intensity, and benefits diminish. It becomes a stimulant rollercoaster.
If you want to use caffeine, the idea is to moderate consumption to optimize these benefits and minimize potential harmful effects.
Caffeine enters your blood stream rapidly, and within an hour reaches all your organs, inducing physiological changes that will last for up to six hours. Due to its chemical structure, it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and a whole host of chemical reactions in your body begin.
An exaggerated stress response takes hold so your adrenal glands produce adrenaline, the “flight or fight” hormone.
Heart rate increases, blood flow shunts to the muscles, blood pressure rises, muscles contract, and the liver releases extra glucose into the blood stream, thereby sparing muscle glycogen.
Quite A LOT of influence this caffeine has over our nervous system, wouldn’t you say?
It is true that caffeine enhances athletic performance, and nearly 70% of athletes in one study I read reported regular caffeine use.
One year while running a marathon, I carried a Gu product with caffeine in it in case I needed a burst of energy towards the finish line. I consumed my caffeinated Gu and felt like I had been shot out of a cannon! That was quite an experience.
Interestingly enough though, the performance enhancing benefits of caffeine are stronger in NONUSERS than in regular users.
The brain adapts and its effects are lessened with the same dose producing fewer desirable physiological changes.
Many people, when they see their tolerance increasing, consume more caffeine, continuously pursuing the jolt. This only serves to increase what can be severe consequences.
I’ve read studies of what happens to people who binge on caffeine and it’s not a pretty picture.
In addition to toxicity at high doses, when combined with other substances like alcohol, ephedrine or anti-inflammatory medications, even moderate caffeine use can be dangerous.
Chronic caffeine use can also contribute to:
–high blood pressure
–high blood sugar
–decreased bone density in women
–jittery nerves and sleeplessness
–withdrawal symptoms like headaches, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and decreased energy.
Here are some ideas if you want to moderate your caffeine consumption to optimize its advantages while averting dependence and withdrawal:
1–If you are going to taper off caffeine, choose a period of relatively low stress. It may cause tiredness so get plenty of sleep—7-8 hours would be great.
2–Keep track of how much caffeine you take in each day. Be honest. This will help you see the importance of tapering down.
3–Start substituting a caffeine-free beverage for one caffeinated beverage every day. Each week add one more substitution. You want to get down to 100 milligrams per day. This is the level below which dependency is unlikely to occur.
4–Next try going cold turkey for three days. The research suggests that withdrawal occurs approximately three days after quitting for new users, and as quickly as 12 hours in regular users. If you feel the caffeine headache, your baseline dose is not low enough. Continue to taper to a 25 mg maintenance dose. You can choose to endure the headache and within a few days you will likely have control over your habit.
5–You do not need a caffeine boost to get you through every deadline, every day or every life event. Choose wisely.
It is possible to have your relationship with caffeine be transformed from an annoying habit driven by the fear of a nagging headache into an occasional performance-enhancing and concentration-boosting one.
I hope this information has been informative and useful.
Even if you are not a caffeine user or you already have a healthy relationship with caffeine, there is always something we can learn from the general understanding of how our systems work when we introduce chemical changes into the picture.
You want your experience with java to be joyful rather than stressful and addictive!
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