caffeine effect | Caffeine and You

7. Uniquely You: Set Point, Genes, and Half-Life

January 7, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

One size does not fit all – especially with caffeine.

This chapter helps explain why some people can drink five cups of coffee a day, and others top off at one. And why coffee is habit-forming for some people, but others have no problem quitting their morning joe.

We’re not always sure how caffeine works, but one thing is clear: all sorts of variables impact how each individual metabolizes caffeine, and even these change throughout a lifetime.

Early caffeine studies often treated subjects the same, whether they were men or women, smokers, or old or young. But over the past decade, scientific research has been more rigorous, aided by tools like the human genome project, MRIs, and other advances. Some of this newfound knowledge explains the discrepancies in early research results, and at the same time, reinforces the need for more research.

Want to know why your caffeine experience is unique to you? Jump into the topics of tolerance, genetics, and caffeine’s half-life, as explained in the next three sections…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

8. Caffeine: Addiction, Withdrawal, Disorders

January 8, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

If quitting caffeine has been on your mind, this is the chapter to read….

Got a caffeine habit? Welcome to the human race.

Ninety percent of the world consumes caffeine every day – as coffee, tea, chocolate, soda or other buzzed-up substance.

In Asia and Russia, tea is drunk from morning to night; and coffee’s hot in Japan and Korea.
In South America, people get their fix from coffee, guarana, or yerba mate (so many choices!).
In Brazil – the world’s main coffee supplier – even toddlers drink coffee at breakfast.
Coca-Cola peps up people of all ages, in all corners of the globe.

Chocolate lovers get a caffeine-fix, too. I don’t just drink caffeine, I devour it: two bites of dark chocolate punctuate my daily lunch.

Read on to find out why caffeine is a socially acceptable, habit-forming – and some say addictive – drug. Caffeine has plenty of benefits, but it’s still a drug that can get out of control. This chapter explains these caffeine-related medical conditions (some of their symptoms may sound very familiar):

Mental health conditions can worsen when combined with caffeine, and a famous legal battle was won using the so-called “Starbucks Defense.” This chapter also covers how much caffeine is safe and when it can be lethal.

But first, the next section asks: Are you addicted to caffeine, or it just a habit?…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms: Ouch!

January 8, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

If the world’s supply of caffeine suddenly dried up, we’d have a global headache on our hands – literally. Most of our heads would be pounding. Throngs of us would feel grumpy, dopey, sleepy, grouchy, achy, depressed, or all of these. In other words, we’d be suffering from Caffeine Withdrawal Syndrome.

Caffeine Withdrawal Syndrome was added in 2013 to The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. But why?

Apparently, people were experiencing symptoms, but doctors and patients weren’t identifying caffeine – or rather caffeine cessation – as the cause. Misdiagnoses can include flu, sinus problems, medication side effects, migraines and more. The symptom checklist helps pinpoint when caffeine, and not some other condition, might be the reason a patient is feeling so bad – bad enough to disrupt normal functioning in daily life. Or the patient may have more ambiguous feelings, like being less motivated at work or less social than normal, and these feelings can be mild or severe.

Caffeine Withdrawal Syndrome

The criteria include 3 or more of these symptoms (within 24 hours of stopping or reducing caffeine).*

1. Headache (some say it’s the worst headache of their lives)

2. Marked fatigue or drowsiness (can’t stay awake, no matter what)

3. Mood is dysphoric, depressed, or irritable (just feeling bad or unwell)

4. Difficulty concentrating (foggy brain, unfocused)

5. Flu-like symptoms (nausea, muscle-aches, vomiting, stiffness)

In addition, these symptoms must be bad enough to disrupt your world and cause distress. Social, work, and other functional parts of your life become impaired. And no medical, mental condition, or other reason can explain why you feel this way. Plus, the symptoms come on fast, starting within 12 to 24 hours of the last caffeine dose.*

Fortunately, the symptoms do go away. They peak after about a day or two, but some can last up to nine days and the headaches can occur for as long as three weeks. Ouch!

Unintentional Withdrawal – and Relief

Have you ever had to give up caffeine for a day or more? Hospital procedures, traveling, going to war (or to jail), being pregnant, fasting, religious practices – any sudden break from your caffeine routine can cause real problems in how you feel and behave.

We don’t think of daily caffeine use as being an addiction, partly because it’s so widespread. Yet symptoms of caffeine withdrawal happen as quickly as overnight (when we crave our first cup of coffee or tea).

Can’t take the pain or discomfort of withdrawal? Drink a cup of coffee, or tea, or cola. That’s right, consuming caffeine ends the symptoms in as little as 30-60 minutes. Which is why so many people would rather keep their habit. (For some people, severe withdrawal bouts mean major depression, staying in bed all day, missing important meetings or social events, not tending to children or pets, not going to work, or unbearable head pain.)

If you really want to cut out the caffeine, experts say the best way to quit is slowly. Taper off the dosage and the frequency. Give your system a chance to adapt. Even just a fraction of your normal dose, say a half-cup of coffee vs. the usual 2 cups, can be effective in stifling symptoms. And about those headaches…read the ingredients label before popping a painkiller; many painkillers include caffeine for its analgesic effects. If you take Excedrin, for instance, you may blunt the pain, but you’re still ingesting caffeine.

*Source: The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition

NEXT: What are the signs of Caffeine Intoxication? It can happen to anyone of any age, even first time users…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Caffeine Toxicity: Dosage Risks

January 8, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Caffeine is safe in low doses, but high doses are risky

A lethal dose of caffeine occurs at about 10 grams, an amount more common with powdered caffeine or caffeine pills. (10 grams is about one-third of an ounce)

You’d have to drink nearly 100 cups of coffee to reach that lethal level, and your body would start rebelling long before ingesting that amount. But it’s easy to get powdered caffeine in today’s online world, and young people especially have overdosed on it. Caffeine pills, like No-Doz, are a less potent but still concentrated form of caffeine and can be risky if not taken as directed.

Athletes sometimes rely on anhydrous caffeine powder and pills as performance supplements, but in small doses. These concentrated substances enter the bloodstream much faster than coffee or caffeinated beverages.

Even with typical dosages, caffeine can interact with some prescription drugs to create unintended overdose, usually by impacting the cardiovascular system.

Caffeine and anxiety disorders also don’t mix. People prone to anxiety and panic attacks are advised to steer clear of caffeine. Among the general population, high doses of caffeine may increase anxiety, nervousness, and restlessness, but this rarely happens at low to moderate doses (one to three cups of coffee, for instance).

Shake, Rattle, ‘n’ Roll

Michael Lee Bedford, the young man who overdosed on caffeine powder in Chapter 4, wasn’t looking to feed an addiction, not in the same way a heroine addict overdoses while getting high. All indications suggest Bedford was simply unaware of the potency of the powder, and had no idea caffeine could put him at such risk. His wasn’t a case of addiction, but rather an accident caused by ignorance.

As mentioned, you’d need to consume about 100 cups of coffee to reach a lethal level of caffeine. On the other hand, caffeine powders and pills are concentrated and far riskier; as little as 2 grams of anhydrous powder can lead to caffeine intoxication, overdose, and even death (depending on a person’s size and health). Alcohol mixed with energy drinks can also be dangerous. For most people, as much as 500 mg a day (about seven Starbucks espressos) is considered safe, though not necessarily advisable; pregnant women and people with heart conditions should consume less.

Yet gauging how much caffeine you’re consuming can be tough. Manufacturers must list caffeine only when it’s been added to the product, and they’re not required to specify the amount. When caffeine occurs naturally (as in coffee, chocolate, and tea), they’re not required to list it at all.

Crazy for caffeine? The final section in this chapter peaks into caffeine and mental health…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents