If you are asking this question, then chances are you’re currently consuming way too much caffeine, and not just too much, but way too much caffeine.

After quitting coffee and going 100% caffeine-free for 75 days, this is what I learned. This article outlines my observations and details the signs of being over-caffeinated.

Caffeine: How much is too much

How much caffeine is too much?

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA:

“For healthy adults, the FDA has cited 400 milligrams a day—that's about four or five cups of coffee—as an amount not generally associated with dangerous, negative effects. However, there is wide variation in both how sensitive people are to the effects of caffeine and how fast they metabolize it (break it down).” (bolding is mine)

It should be noted that a standard cup of coffee is made using ONE level tablespoon of ground coffee: 

• 100% Arabica coffee = 60mg caffeine/tablespoon

• 100% Robusta coffee = 120mg of caffeine/tablespoon

• Blended coffee beans = 60 - 120mg caffeine/tablespoon (Robusta is more bitter than Arabica. If the blend you are drinking is extra bitter then it’s extra caffeinated)

A heaped tablespoon of coffee grounds can hold up to 3 times the amount, turning 100mg of caffeine into 300mg just in a single cup. Also, keep in mind that coffee from cafe shops is generally higher in caffeine.

Caffeine Toxicity: Caffeinism

While caffeine is known to boost your mood, too much creates a condition called “caffeinism” and is characterized by anxiety, panic attacks, and “nervousness.” Additionally, irritability, insomnia, diuresis, tremors, and tachycardia are all conditions caused by too much caffeine or “caffeinism.” 

Caffeinism, depending on the person, starts at 250 - 1000mg of caffeine. To put this in perspective, one large (venti) Starbucks coffee has 415mg of caffeine. If you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, nervousness, or insomnia, reducing or eliminating caffeine is highly recommended. 

Quitting alcohol becomes easy

The Stimulation - Sedation Cycle, coined by Dr. Elson Haas, is the cycle of using caffeine and sugar as energy stimulants during the day, and alcohol, marijuana, or other substances in the evening to relax.

Quitting caffeine breaks this Stimulation - Sedation Cycle. Over the 75 days of going caffeine-free, I also was alcohol-free. I had zero desire to drink any alcohol and as soon as I felt sleepy, I instantly fell asleep after crawling into bed.

Just because you consume caffeine doesn’t automatically mean you will be in the Caffeine/Alcohol Loop. However, for those of you that are looking to reduce the amount of alcohol or marijuana, reducing/quitting caffeine is quite possibly the most important step.

Caffeine & Chronic Pain

Caffeine can cause chronic pain and enhance previously existing aches and pains, including back, neck, carpal tunnel, and shoulder pain. A 1997 paper from the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation explains:

Caffeine increases skeletal muscle twitch response by augmenting Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. It causes slow-twitch muscles (eg, postural low back muscles) to fatigue more quickly. Caffeine stimulates the release of catecholamines such as epinephrine. Catecholamines sensitize muscle nociceptors, increasing the perception of pain.Increasing plasma epinephrine levels exacerbates the already hyperactive dopaminergic state in patients with chronic pain; it also inhibits sleep, further stimulating the paleospinothalamic tract. Caffeine induces urinary loss of calcium, diminishing mineral content of bone and possibly increasing the rate of vertebral microfractures. A similar effect is caused by nicotine.”

For oversimplification, the researchers are saying that caffeine disrupts calcium flow in skeletal muscles. Muscle contractions or spasms are a sign that you are consuming too much caffeine. In this paper, back pain was worsened with only 392mg of caffeine per day. Which is less than the FDA’s recommendation and less caffeine than many large cups of coffee.

Headaches

Caffeine and headaches are tricky because it is both the cause and cure. Regular consumption of 200mg a day, followed by a decrease in the amount of caffeine is enough to trigger a headache and the immediate cure is to drink another cup of coffee or tea.

It’s not uncommon for coffee drinkers to experience headaches and migraines on non-workdays, this is due to lower consumption of caffeine on these leisurely days, and the reduced caffeine triggers withdrawals and a subsequent headache.

Caffeine: Half-life

The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the amount of a drug's active substance in your body to reduce by half.

The average half-life of caffeine in healthy individuals is about 6 hours. However, caffeine's elimination half-life may range between 1.5 and 10 hours.

Caffeine metabolism varies significantly from person to person as is evident with a half-life range of 1.5 to 10 hours. This means that for the average coffee drinker, consuming only one large Starbucks coffee at 9 am, there is still 104mg of caffeine in their system 12 hours later at 9 pm. For many, this prevents them from getting a great night of rest, resulting in drinking more coffee in the morning, leading to an endless cycle of increased caffeine and dependence.

Caffeine & Insomnia

I never had an issue with insomnia while being on the caffeine, with that being said, the largest benefit I experienced over the 75 days was in sleep quality. As soon as I felt sleepy at around 10 - 11 pm, I would crawl into bed and instantly fall asleep. Waking up like a clock at 7:15 am with zero dream-time disturbances, including bathroom breaks. My dreams were so vivid they brought me back to my childhood.

Studies show that even 60mg of caffeine first thing in the morning can cause sleep disturbances. Caffeine promotes wakefulness by antagonizing adenosine A1 and A2 receptors in the brain. Without caffeine, your adenosine receptors don’t get blocked, and the buildup of adenosine causes you to become sleepy and fall asleep within a natural rhythm.

Caffeine worsens sleep quality and the more you consume the worse you sleep. Just because you're not experiencing full-on insomnia doesn’t mean that caffeine isn’t negatively affecting you. Both slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep are significantly reduced in caffeinated sleepers, which reduces overall sleep quality by about 20%.

Then, since you are extra sleepy from worsened sleep, you consume even more caffeine the following day. Creating an endless cycle of reduced sleep and more caffeine, finding yourself sleeping only 5 - 6 hours a night, and thinking that is a normal part of aging. This is not normal. This is called caffeinism.

quitting Caffeine

• Do you drink caffeinated beverages daily?

• Do you get deranged if having a caffeinated beverage isn’t possible?

• Do you consume over 500mg of caffeine a day?

• Do you get irritable and impatient if you haven’t had your morning caffeine dose? If yes, do you also get headaches?

• Does your current caffeine consumption no longer give you a boost, but just a feeling of normal?

• Do you drink more caffeinated beverages than you do pure water?

• Does your morning poo coincide with your morning cup of coffee?

The more yes answers you have, the longer it will take to recover from the withdrawal symptoms. Stephen Snehan Cherniske, the author of “Caffeine Blues,” says that it takes from 2 weeks to 3 months (or longer) to recover from caffeinism. I didn’t feel even close to “normal” until day 43 and even after 2.5 months I still had brain fog.

The Dose Makes The Poison

Every year more athletes are hospitalized from hyponatremia (too much water) than dehydration. The dosage makes the poison, whether that is water or caffeine. The reason that the FDA, USDA, and the Mayo Clinic recommend up to 400mg of caffeine per day is because no valid studies test higher amounts.

Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia in the 9th-century. There, it was customary to drink 3 cups of coffee of 3 ounces each. The total amount of caffeine was less than 150mg. In academia, before the 1980s, more than 200mg of caffeine was thought to be excessive.

Final Thought

In Michael Pollan’s latest book, Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World, the famed author quit all caffeine for 3-months. To truly understand the effects of caffeine, you need a fresh perspective. For this article, I also did the same, except I lasted 2.5 months.

On day 76, I prepared a double tablespoon cafe with 100% Arabica coffee, about 120mg worth of caffeine. This was the only caffeinated beverage for the day and it just blasted me off into space. It was a magical moment.

While I don’t anticipate quitting caffeine completely, the effects of caffeine are vastly underestimated. “Nervousness” was present at about 150mg. My back pain, which disappeared during the 75 days returned on a 500mg trial day.

Caffeine is a wonderful drug when used with a purpose. To drink coffee or tea every day reduces its power. No one thinks of coffee as potent and addictive, but daily consumption leads you on the path of dependence.

Jesse is Director of Pedal Chile and lives in Valdivia, Chile. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health & Human Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Hobbies: MTBing, snowboarding, reading, taster of craft beers, and researcher.

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Sources & References

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