Caffeine Addiction and Withdrawal
About 90% of Americans consume caffeine every day (1). The average intake is about 280mg per day, which is the equivalent to 1-2 cups of coffee. What many of us forget is that caffeine is a drug, and although it may make us feel more awake, it can also aggravate health problems such as heartburn and irregular heartbeats. If you cannot function without your morning cup of coffee, then you’re addicted.
The question many of you are probably wondering is, “how does caffeine work?” Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps to promote sleep by slowing down nerve cell activity. Caffeine looks very similar to adenosine to nerve cells, so caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors. The cells are then not able to sense adenosine, since caffeine is taking up the receptors. The nerve cells then speed up instead of slowing down. This puts the body into a state of “emergency”, which causes many effects, including an increase in heart rate, and causes sugar to be released into the bloodstream for energy (1).
Caffeine is a mild stimulant and diuretic, and although it’s effects are milder, it uses the same mechanisms as amphetamines, cocaine and heroin to stimulate the brain. Caffeine increases dopamine, which produces a euphoric effect. Caffeine addiction causes side effects including headache and difficulty concentrating (1).
Roland Griffiths, Ph.D and colleague Laura Juliano, Ph.D, examined 57 experimental studies and nine survey studies on caffeine withdrawal, and published their findings in the October 2004 edition of Psychopharmacology. Five categories of withdrawal symptoms were identified in the studies: headache; fatigue and drowsiness; depression and irritability; difficulty concentrating; and flu-like symptoms including nausea, vomiting and muscle pain or stiffness. Half of the people in the studies suffered from headaches and 13 percent had clinically significant distress or functional impairment. Most people had symptoms within 12 to 24 hours after their last dose of caffeine, which lasted for about 2 to 9 days.
According to Griffiths, people that wish to quit consuming caffeine should gradually reduce caffeine consumption over time to reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms (2).
References
- Brain, Marshall (1998-2007). How Caffeine Works. How Stuff Works, Inc. Available online from http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm [Cited Sept.12, 2007].
- Caffeine withdrawal recognized as a disorder (2004). Johns Hopkins Medicine. Available online from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/09_29_04.html [Cited Sept.12, 2007].
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Technorati
Caffeine Addiction
Caffeine addiction symptoms generally depends upon the status of dependency and addiction. Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal may include annoyance, tiredness or sleepiness. In addition, changes in temper, such as depressed feel or bad temper may occur. Muscles may be agonizing or rigid. A person with withdrawal symptoms may experience, he or she is not capable to give attention. Some may experience flu-like symptoms, such as sickness or vomiting.
http://www.addiction-treatments.com/
I have the same problem with
I have the same problem with the excess of coffee. Indeed, it affects your heart in the most directly way, but I just can't start my day without drinking a big cup of coffee, in the morning. And after that 2 more during the day. Maybe they should create some special centers like those for alcohol rehabilitation. Have you considered that?
Addiction
In my opinion this is an interesting article which help me in gathering valuable information.
========================
Taylor
Drug Rehabs
thyroid issues
I would have to agree with Brian, I do think caffeine has its place. I would suggest, though, that sugar and not caffeine is the world's most popular drug!
Lets not forget, a need for caffeine may reflect sleep deprivation, poor diet or a hormonal issue as well. I commonly see patients who have an underactive thyroid evidenced by trouble getting out of bed in the morning. Often they have been to the doctor who tells them they are "fine" after checking their TSH levels. This is not a reliable or complete evaluation of thyroid function. Demand a free T3 (the active hormone) to see if you have a thyroid deficiency.
Also, fatigue all day long especially later in the afternoon may reflect adrenal fatigue, an often overlooked health concern. Look for a sugar craving as well.
Darren Clair, MD
Vibrance Health Services
I'd agree sugar is the
I'd agree sugar is the biggest drug/addiction problem but at the same time it's in so many foods that we consume and unknowingly for example fruits and vegetables contain sugar, the only people real conscious about what has sugar and what doesn't are diabetics. I do make attempts to use equal or splenda which I have in my coffee right now and happy about the 0 calories 0 fat etc it has. I don't think i'd say im in need of any addiction treatment for the amount of coffee I drink a few cups in the morning usually while working and maybe a cup of tea at night.
Coffee
I drink a LOT of decaff coffee and periodically take a day off from it to see if its addicting like caffeinated is. So far i can't tell any addiction happening. What DOES make me a bit nervous is that the way its decaffeinated, is by super heating the bean then blasting the outside covering ( where the caffeine is located ) off with a weak solution of ammonia. This is another reason we need more accurate food labeling. I'd like to know if any ammonia stays in it then. I just LOVE the taste! Michael T
It burns! It burns!
I'd like to be able to consume some caffeine for training purposes but in the past, caffeine has given me the feeling of having a UTI (urinary tract infection). Not to give TMI to anyone but I'm prone to them (I used to get them 2+ a year!) and I generally try to avoid caffeine except for the odd glass of iced tea. Even then, I have to drink a lot of water while consuming caffeinated tea just to avoid getting feeling burning symptoms.
Granted, I take Cranberry supplements daily and I have not had a UTI in almost 3 years (which is amazing to me). So I might be able to try caffeine supplements in small doses. I sometimes take a few sips of my husbands Monster drink before a work out. If I drank the whole thing my bladder would probably disintegrate. Those energy drinks are crazy.
P.S. Cranberry juice never did a thing for me and was a huge waste of calories. Cranberry pills are the bomb though and I get more cranberry extract out of 1 pill than drinking 2 jugs of it in juice form.
Organic Unsweetened Cranberry Juice
The diluted, sugar filled stuff they sell in most stores (in my opinion) does not have enough of cranberry's active constituents to make a difference unless you drink a lot of it, and then as you pointed out, those are just extra calories you probably don't need in the first place. I have read that the cocktails you by in stores can have as little as 25% cranberry juice. The unsweetened pure juice works the best around here, although we generally just drink it as a health supplement (about 8oz every other day). None of us have ever had a UTI. But like you said, the extract is much more convenient. Cranberry is so interesting and has so many other potential uses, we're going to be dedicating a whole big article to it in the near future.
As I ironically sit here...
drinking a cup of coffee... lol..
now I couldnt figure out lately why I've been so out of energy and unable to whip up the usual excitement to train. It definitely couldn't be b/c i was overtraining, b/c i hadn't completed a full week of training in a afew weeks (since i couldn't do legs due to my injury)... it might have been cause i was a little depressed with the weight gain..
OR!!!
it could have been the coffee!!! b/c for whatever reason, i wasnt drinking much at all... i've always known about the addiction, adn thought about it's side effects, but as I've always thought about it, it never happened.. the of course the moment i get sidetracked, and dont think about it... it happened. lol...
i will start to drink decaff then, b/c i never started drinking coffee for energy, in the sense that i NEEDED it.... i drank it b/c it had fat burning effects (which is proven b/c anything that stimulates metabolism directly or indirectly helps burn fat)...in a round about way... thats why i started drinking it.. also b/c when ur dieting (as a bodybuilder) you need calorie free drinks (or at least I do) to help keep me from eating everything in sight when im on low carbs. lol.
Caffeine...good for endurance
For those of us on the other side of the coin (focusing on endurance performance), consider giving caffeine a try. It can certainly have some drawbacks, but for most of the population, it is relatively safe. Don't forget, it is the most consumed drug in the entire world.
Shoot for around 6mgs/kg body weight (not a small dose for those that are caffeine sensitive) one hour before a race, or you can take it consistently throughout the event instead. If you want more information, I wrote a very comprehensive article regarding caffeine and performance for Peak Running Performance...I'd be happy to pass it along if you email me!!
Brian Zehetner MS,RD,CSSD,CSCS
Myfittribe and JamCore "Nutrition Guy"
Hey Brian
Great comment! I totally agree that caffeine is a great performance enhancing supplement! However, I think a lot of people are chronically over stimulated by unhealthy amounts of caffeine that lead to sleep disturbances and other health problems. So, I think most regular coffee drinkers would be relatively insensitive to caffeine when used as a performance enhancer.
Speaking from personal experience, I noticed a HUGE difference between when I drank coffee, and when I strictly used caffeine as a performance enhancer. It had what I would quantify as a negative effect on my training when I consumed 1-2 cups of strong coffee a day on a regular basis (my energy levels would fluctuate throughout the day and I would occasionally have minor sleep disturbances), but when I stopped drinking coffee and just used caffeine occasionally, it had a dramatic difference in my workouts. It really gave me that extra "ooomph" that I might not have had otherwise.
I would love to see that article, can you shoot it over to me?
THANKS!!!