Caffeine has various effects on the body, which are potentially harmful to health. Caffeine increases heart rate and can cause abnormalities in the heartbeat, so is not recommended for people with cardiovascular problems. It also increases blood pressure and affects bone density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis.
Addiction involves not only excessive use of caffeine but also relying on caffeine to cope with life, typically in spite of negative effects. To figure out whether you might be addicted, go through the following steps:
Assess your intake: Calculate how much caffeine you are actually consuming on a typical day, including gourmet espresso, lattes, and cappuccino, which are typically much stronger than regular drip or instant coffee, soda, and other common caffeine-containing foods and drinks.
Pay attention to how you feel: Make a note of any side effects of caffeine, as well as withdrawal symptoms that happen if you miss a regular dose of caffeine.
Consider the effects: Think about the effects of caffeine or withdrawal symptoms you experience if you miss a regular dose, and how they have affected your feelings, functioning, and relationships2. For example, do you get irritable if you have too much or too little caffeine? Do you experience headaches or fatigue if you miss a dose of caffeine? Most importantly, do you feel you “need” caffeine to get through the day?
Next steps to consider
If you feel that your responses to any of the above seem alarming, speak to your healthcare provider. If you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor about your caffeine intake as soon as possible. Similarly, if you have another health problem that might be impacted by your caffeine use, such as a cardiovascular problem, discuss options with your doctor right away.3
The vicious cycle of addiction happens with caffeine, just as it does with other addictive substances. As the effects of caffeine wear off, you might feel a crash in energy and that you can’t keep going without another boost of caffeine.2 As withdrawal can make you feel worse, it is important for most people to reduce your caffeine intake gradually rather than abruptly to get the maximum benefit from quitting or reducing caffeine. Your doctor can help you devise a plan.
If you feel you are using excessive amounts of caffeine to cope with an ongoing emotional problem, such as depression or anxiety, also talk to your physician about options for treating these problems. The right treatment could make a huge difference for you. Caffeine addiction often overlaps with other behavioral addictions,4 such as sugar addiction, so you might find that evaluating your caffeine intake opens up a Pandora’s box of other behaviors that need to be addressed.
If you don’t feel you are addicted to caffeine, but you do feel you are consuming more than is healthy, you can choose to either reduce your caffeine intake or cut out caffeine altogether. The most common mistake, in either case, is to cut down by too much too soon, causing you to relapse due to an intense headache.5
Instead of cutting your caffeine intake in half, try reducing your regular intake by about 10 percent every two weeks; reduce the strength of your last caffeinated drink of the day by diluting it with an uncaffeinated drink.
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