Caffeine and You

Coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks, caffeine and people

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT THIS BLOG
    • About Kate Heyhoe
    • Archive
  • BUZZ
  • CAFFEINE BASICS
  • RECIPES
  • SHOP
  • Contact
  • March 27, 2023
You are here: Home / Caffeine Basics / Caffeine: Are You Addicted?

Caffeine: Are You Addicted?

January 8, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Share Button

JimiJoeAddiction2If you consume caffeine every day, in a regular fashion, you’ve either got a habit or are addicted – pick the term you prefer.

Experts quibble over whether to call caffeine addictive or just habit-forming. The difference is somewhat a matter of semantics, but not entirely.

An addiction suggests self-destructive behavior, one that poses a threat to individuals or society, as in a heroin or cocaine addiction. For most of us, caffeine doesn’t match that type of downward spiral. Caffeine’s generally not emotionally or physically destructive, though it can be in some people, and that’s when experts consider it an addiction.

Caffeine does act like other addictive substances by tripping the reward and pleasure circuits of the brain (which explains a lot about its popularity). It is undeniably habit-forming, but most of us don’t experience adverse effects from typical doses. Caffeine can even have benefits, such as lifting depression and reducing certain cancer risks, or enhancing certain mental and physical tasks.

Whatever you call it, if you’re hooked on caffeine, don’t panic: clinically speaking, caffeine is only mildly addictive or habit-forming. Most people can easily quit caffeine, if they survive the withdrawal stage. Though intense, withdrawal symptoms typically pass in a matter of days.

How has your caffeine consumption changed? If you do have a caffeine habit, chances are you now take in more caffeine than when you first started. That’s normal. It’s known as developing tolerance. When you hit that sweet spot of daily consumption, not too strong or too weak, you’ve found your setpoint, which is covered in Chapter 7.

So if you do have a caffeine jones, relax. You’re in good company. But if you’ve not developed or don’t want a caffeine habit, some experts say there’s no reason to start one.

Caffeine: Deep Addiction or Mild Dependency?

It’s not easy to tell if someone’s on caffeine.

Caffeine’s not like alcohol; it may elevate your mood, but people don’t get giddy or use it to escape from their troubles. Caffeine doesn’t make you slur your words or walk funny.

It’s typically used to sustain or enhance functionality. We trust our lives to people on caffeine: airline pilots, teachers, firefighters, even the President of the United States. In dangerous situations, we might even prefer that these people be on caffeine, to boost their alertness and performance.

Caffeine is also self-regulating, as discussed earlier, which prevents most of us from spiraling into dramatically destructive scenarios. Once our hands start to shake, we turn off the caffeine tap.

True enough. But caffeine does have a real effect on reward circuits of the brain, one that is consistent with addiction. Breaking the caffeine habit includes the same physical and mental withdrawal symptoms that define a substance as addictive. When your hands shake, yet you’re still pouring caffeine, that’s a sign your habit is out of control.

Let’s revisit what caffeine does to our neural wiring: Caffeine stimulates dopamine, a source of feel-good effects. According to some experts, it does so in areas of the brain separate from where cocaine and harder stimulants activate the neural wiring. So, caffeine activates some reward circuits, but it may do so in a manageable way.

Perhaps it’s best to view caffeine as a mildly addictive substance, one that presents benign effects or adverse risks, depending on the user and quantity ingested. And keep in mind that caffeine is biphasic: low to moderate doses create profoundly different effects from those of high doses.

Symptoms of Caffeine Addiction

What are the symptoms of caffeine addiction? As the next section shows, there is a beast known as Caffeine Use Disorder, and you only need three symptoms to qualify…

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Filed Under: Caffeine Basics Tagged With: addiction, caffeine effects, Chapter 08, habit, health effects, safety, withdrawal

RECENT POSTS

The Nutella Cookbook: Steal This Book?

The Nutella Cookbook: Steal This Book?

Recipes

Would you steal Nutella? In 2013, thieves stole $21,000 worth of Nutella from a warehouse in German  [...]

Nutella and Orange Whoopie Pies

Nutella and Orange Whoopie Pies

Recipes

The combination of Nutella and orange makes eating these little cakes complete bliss… Makes 15 Wh  [...]

Nutella Truffles

Nutella Truffles

Recipes

Bite into one of these truffles and what a surprise – a caramelised hazelnut in the centre! Makes  [...]

Mini-Nutella Croissants

Mini-Nutella Croissants

Recipes

Treat yourself at breakfast or teatime with these mini-croissants made with the famous hazelnut choc  [...]

5 Ways Coffee Fights Cancer

5 Ways Coffee Fights Cancer

Buzz, Coffee, Health Effects

Will coffee help keep you cancer-free? Possibly. Coffee reduces the risk of certain cancers, acco  [...]

Sparkling Moroccan Mint Tea

Sparkling Moroccan Mint Tea

Recipes, Tea

For Sparkling Moroccan Mint Tea, just add carbonated water (see below). I've made this with green, b  [...]

5 Ways to Up Coffee's Caffeine

5 Ways to Up Coffee's Caffeine

Buzz, Coffee

Wanna Up Your Cup? Tweaking Coffee's Caffeine The amount of caffeine in your coffee depends on   [...]

Coffee + Cocoa + Chile Rub

Coffee + Cocoa + Chile Rub

Recipes

A pot of cowboy coffee and steaks on the campfire? Hmmmm.... maybe a backyard grill and icy marg  [...]

Why Bees Buzz to Caffeine

Why Bees Buzz to Caffeine

Buzz

As it turns out, bees like caffeine. Maybe that's why they buzz... Bees, as we know, are importan  [...]

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Mini's

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Mini's

Recipes

When it's 100 degrees outside, I head indoors to make cheesecake – miniature no-bake cheesecakes, in  [...]

Chocolate's Next Conquest: India

Chocolate's Next Conquest: India

Buzz, Chocolate

In Western tradition, a dinner guest brings a bottle of wine as a host or hostess gift. In India,  [...]

Espresso-Flavored Char Shu with Java Marmalade

Espresso-Flavored Char Shu with Java Marmalade

Recipes

You know those glazed pieces of pork hanging in Chinatown restaurant windows? This is my coffee-spik  [...]

Iced Coffee Syrup, for Sparkling Coffee Spritzer

Iced Coffee Syrup, for Sparkling Coffee Spritzer

Recipes

Coffee Spritzers, here we come! Think coffee with cool, bubbly carbonation. These babies go down   [...]

10 Best Coffee Quotes From *Living* People

10 Best Coffee Quotes From *Living* People

Buzz, Fun

10 Best Coffee Quotes from Living People - Tired of quotes as stale as yesterday's coffee,   [...]

Brain Candy: Sugar May Boost Coffee's Effects

Brain Candy: Sugar May Boost Coffee's Effects

Buzz, Caffeine Effects

Sugar + caffeine = synergy? Combo boosts memory + attention, says one study.  Glucose and caffein  [...]

Hit-and-Run Driver Pleads "Starbucks Defense"

Hit-and-Run Driver Pleads

Buzz, Caffeine Effects

True story: Excessive caffeine, a mental disorder, and no sleep lead to tragic consequences... At  [...]

Cheating Death: Do Coffee Drinkers Live Longer?

Cheating Death: Do Coffee Drinkers Live Longer?

Buzz, Caffeine Effects, Coffee, Health Effects

Death is inevitable, but a major study shows... "Coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death." I re  [...]

Modern Rush: Ready-to-Drink Tea

Modern Rush: Ready-to-Drink Tea

Buzz, Tea

Cold, Instant, and On-the-Go: How We Like Our Tea  More Americans go inside convenience stores   [...]

SHOPPING


All Products

Categories

Tag Cloud

ABA addiction alcohol antioxidant appetizer beet beverage Beverage Lobby brain Brazil cacao caffeine caffeine amount caffeine effect caffeine effects cancer candy cappuccino carcinoma cassina Chapter Chapter 04 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Chapter 07 Chapter 08 cheesecake children chile chocolate chocolate recipe Coca-Cola cocoa cocoa nib cocoa powder coffee coffee drink coffee recipe coke cola cola nut cookie dietary supplement dopamine dose energy drink energy gel energy shot FAQ FDA food food label Fun grilling guarana gum habit half-life hazelnut health health effect health effects history infographic java kids lethal dose marinade memory mental focus mental health military miniature dessert mint mood Mt. Dew neurotransmitter news Nutella orange people pork product recipe risk safety salad seasoning soda soft drink sugar tea teacup teen theanine theobromine trend withdrawal women yerba mate

CONNECT

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Follow @KateHeyhoe

 
 

© 2017, Kate Heyhoe and CaffeineAnd You.com. All Rights Reserved

Meet Kate

About Kate Heyhoe

I'm an author and journalist specializing in food and cooking. Caffeine Basics is my ninth book. I've written about the U.S. wine industry, international foods, shrinking your "cookprint," and cooking with kids. Great Bar Food at Home was a James Beard Award finalist, and Cooking Green: Reducing … More

Policies and Archives

  • Archive
  • Policies

Sites We Like

  • Coffee Krave
  • FoodWine.com
  • Sprudge
  • The Tea Stylist

Copyright © 2017 Kate Heyhoe · Log in