6 Signs of Coffee Addiction

Coffee fans and lovers have been increasing throughout the globe as we speak and thanks to the cafes that can be found all around, we can indulge ourselves in the best coffees out there to keep us energetic all day long.

Despite the trend of coffee being consumed any time of the day. it is still mostly taken in the morning as we wake up to provide that energy caffeine to perform our daily tasks.  Some of us just cannot imagine what life would be without our morning coffee making it an addiction.

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Whether you realize it or not, most people out there are already addicted to coffee. Some might say that it is to the extent of a mental illness for not being able to get their daily dose of coffee. It is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which is used by medical professionals for classifications and diagnostic tools.

A medical doctor, Partha Nandi from the television show, Ask Dr. Nandi stated that;

You can become addicted to caffeine if you are used to consuming at least 100mg of caffeine equivalent to one cup of coffee each day

 

The body gets used to this stimulant so that if it is no longer present, you will notice a change in yourself. Here we would like to share with you 6 surprising signs that showed your body is dependent on caffeine and what can be done to avoid or reduce these symptoms if you are not taking any coffee.

1. Morning Headaches

If you keep on feeling that throbbing sensation each time you wake up from your bed, you would probably need a dose of coffee as fast as possible.

A headache can last for 12 to 24 hours after your last coffee intake which explains why a cup of coffee in the morning is very interesting after your sleep.

Explained by Maggie Moon, a registered food practitioner. What happens is when your body is waiting for that source of caffeine, your blood vessels expand. This will disrupt your nerves which will initiate pain in the middle part of your brain, hence the throbbing headache.

On top of that, timing also plays a role. After you wake up from sleep, your body feels dehydrated for not consuming any water for the past hours. This means that the tissues in your brain lose water making the volume of the blood reduced.

This will cause a headache, said Dr. Nandi.

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2. Muscle Cramps

An excessive amount of caffeine intake can cause the body to overhydrate, and can result in muscle cramps, especially in areas like the thighs or hamstrings, said Dr. Nandi. You will also experience leg fatigue ness resulting in discomfort and pain during nighttime in particular.

The feeling is as if your leg is being poked with needles and will become much worse if the leg is in a resting state. Unfortunately for this, not taking any coffee will not solve the problem nor if you were to take some caffeine.

3. Easy To Get Angry

If you noticed that you get more grumpy and angry easily if you did not get your coffee, then this is the first sign of dependency. Our body required a certain level of serotonin and dopamine to be happy and if both were in deficit, then this will result in signs of depression, Schapiro explained.

And if the reduction of caffeine intake disturbs your sleep, you will definitely feel a lot worst. On the other hand, not taking any caffeine also means less activation of the sympathetic nervous system that will stimulate focus and feelings of happiness, said Dr. Allen Towfigh, a medical doctor at New York Presbyterian.

It will ultimately affect a person's mood and ability to stay focused.

4. Low Blood Pressure

Not taking coffee means that you are not consuming any strong stimulants. The effect is that some people will feel a rapid heartbeat resulting in palpitations. The intake of coffee will cause your blood pressure to increase and the other way around for not taking it at all.

As the blood pressure reduces, you will start to feel lightheaded, instability, weak, and lethargic. Have you experienced this? If so, then perhaps this is the right time to seek a doctor's help especially when you have a family history of blood pressure and any sudden change to your body.

5. Changes in Body Temperature

As explained previously, caffeine will increase the rate of the heartbeat as well as the blood flow in your body. Therefore by stop taking caffeine abruptly will result in a sudden change in your body temperature, said Dr. Towfigh.

In some cases, the person can also feel a very shivering cold. This is happening despite being in the warm heater of your home. But in the worst case scenario, low caffeine intake will be having cold sweat at the same time.

This happens due to the absence of caffeine which will constrict the blood vessels in your lower extremities, said Dr. Isabel Smith.

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6 Insomnia

If your sleep patterns are constantly disturbed then this might be due to caffeine intake. Caffeine can reduce the level of signals to the brain including serotonin which will make it difficult for the person to sleep, explained Dr. Nandi.

It will prevent the receiving of adenosine which is crucial in making us feel tired and ultimately sleep. So coffee lovers will feel energetic, more focused, and less tired to go to bed.

Reducing the intake of coffee in the morning can aid in having a good night's sleep. The National Sleep Foundation stated that even an intake of caffeine 6 hours before sleep will result in you having insomnia.

Ways To Prevent

The way to go will be to start small by gradually reducing the amount of intake by 1/4 of what you commonly take. For instance, if you usually consume 4 cups of coffee each day then try to reduce it to 3 per day.

One can also try to mix some of your coffee with the decaffeinated ones slowly. It will definitely take weeks to see the effect and if you also like tea then it might be an option for your to try it instead of coffee.

With that being said consuming less than 4 cups of coffee each day is relatively harmless and it will take a high dose of caffeine for you to actually get the toxic effect.

Source:

• FDA

• hellodoktor

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