How Much Coffee is Too Much?

For most of us, drinking coffee is a daily part of our lives. It wakes us up every morning and primes us to be as active as we can be for the rest of the day. When we feel lethargic, just a cup of this can revitalize us once again, pushing us further to finish what we have to do.

While that is beneficial and all, did you know that too much of a good thing can be bad for your health? This applies even to trusty caffeine, as an excess of it in your body could do more harm than good. But how do you know that you are already having too much of it?

Here are some telltale signs that you are drinking too much coffee.

1. You Worry Too Much

Feeling a bit anxious is normal as it keeps you on your feet. But if you have a problem with anxiety, then you need to steer clear from a mug of coffee as it can worsen its symptoms. When that happens, you being alert to almost every stimulus can be debilitating. Deep breathing exercises can do wonders as a substitute for coffee.

2. Stomach Discomfort

There are many reasons you would feel pain in your stomach, but it appears that too much coffee can also be the culprit. You see, excess caffeine in your system can cause increased acid production in your stomach, and that would be nasty. It may be time to think about your coffee intake if this becomes bothersome for you.

3. You Experience Heart Palpitations

Have you ever felt like your heart demands to be felt, so much that you feel it in your chest and wants to break free? This can be a troubling experience for some, and it just gets worse with more caffeine in your system. While it sounds seemingly harmless, it may lead to fainting spells and dizziness, so you might want to let go of coffee altogether.

4. You Suffer From Loose Bowel Movement

If you dash to the toilet more often than before and pass loose stool, it is high time to cut down on your caffeine consumption. Similar to the bullet point above, where it causes stomach discomfort, coffee can stimulate hyperactivity in your digestive system, which will lead to diarrhoea. It’s not just a big hassle, but it can be very embarrassing as well.

5. Sleeping Gets Taxing

When you can’t sleep well at night, it’s not just because something is bothering you. Coffee is also preventing you from falling into a deep sleep or is waking you up in certain intervals. It has been found out that caffeine stays in your system for around 14 hours, so even that cup that you drank in the afternoon can be bothering you until bedtime.

6. You Feel Jittery

As the first bullet point in this list, there is a problem with too much coffee in your body. You could get jumpy with even the slightest stimuli, and that could be disturbing at times. Caffeine hyper stimulates your central nervous system, and the result is you becoming extremely reactive. Not a good sight.

7. You’re Plagued with Headaches

Some medications that address headache have caffeine in them, making them a more potent drug. Yet while that is beneficial, caffeine withdrawal can actually produce the symptom it is supposed to combat. Talk about the pain-fighting back!

How to Lessen Your Caffeine Consumption

If you experience at least one of the above signs, it is high time to cut back on your coffee intake. Here are some ways that you can do it without risking caffeine withdrawal:

1. Pay attention to caffeine content. You will need to check on the foods and beverages you take in and look at the caffeine content. Please read the labels carefully and provide a little leeway, as some products don’t indicate that it has the substance in it.

2. Cut back slowly. If you are a heavy coffee drinker, you will need to slowly lessen the amount over the next few days or weeks. Your body will react negatively to low caffeine levels, so you need to be careful.

3. Check the medication components. Some painkillers have caffeine in them to increase the desired effects. If you are trying to cut back on caffeine, you will need to go for caffeine-free medications instead.

Coffee is certainly a great substance with many benefits, but too much isn’t going to do you any good. It would help if you always took everything in moderation.