Be careful with caffeine

(From The Pegasus NLP Newsletter

Every time you drink tea, coffee, cocoa,  chocolate, or cola you are giving your body a 'hit' of caffeine. Along with nicotine and alcohol, caffeine is one  of the three most widely used mood-affecting drugs in the world.

If you have more than two or three caffeine drinks per day your 'habit' may be affecting you emotionally and physically much more significantly than you might expect.  

What is caffeine?

It is a potent and quick-acting drug which produces an effect similar to the stress response in our bodies. Caffeine affects each person differently, depending on individual circumstances such as weight, build, etc. It has an almost instant effect on your mind-body and will continue to influence your state for 6-8 hours afterwards.  

Caffeine effects  

1. Stimulates your heart, respiratory system, and central nervous system.

2. Makes your blood more `sludgy' by raising the level of fatty acids in the blood.

3. Causes messages to be passed along your nervous system more quickly

4. Stimulates blood circulation

5. Raises blood pressure

6. Causes your stomach to produce more acid

7. Irritates the stomach lining

8. Makes digestion less effective by relaxing the muscles of your intestinal system

9. Its diuretic effect causes increased urination

10. Stimulates the cortex of your brain heightening the intensity of mental activity. This can result in a temporary feeling of alertness and, in the short term, banishes drowsiness and feelings of fatigue. In those who already have high levels of anxiety the heightened intensity of mental activity can produce unpleasant effects.

11. Affects the length and quality of sleep. Heavy caffeine users suffer from sleep-deprivation because their nervous system is too stimulated to allow them deep, restful or prolonged sleep.

12. The American Medical Journal has reported a correlation between caffeine and decreased bone density or osteoporosis in women.

In addition to the above effects prolonged or heavy caffeine use can produce more uncomfortable experiences:

13. `Caffeine nerves' a jittery feeling with shaking hands, palpitations, and wobbliness in the legs.

14. Caffeine addiction which involves nervousness, irritability, agitation, headaches or ringing in the ears.

15. Causes your adrenal glands to release their hormones into your bloodstream

16. Causes blood sugar, or blood glucose, to be released from storage through the effects of the adrenal hormones. This gives you a temporary lift but…

17. …requires your pancreas to over-work. This is because your pancreas now has to produce extra insulin to reduce this  extra blood sugar. Once the extra insulin has 'mopped up' the extra blood sugar your temporary lift from the caffeine ends. Your vitality level is back to normal. However in heavy caffeine users the pancreas, in time, becomes over-sensitive and over-zealous. Now it begins producing too much insulin – it 'mops up' not just the excess blood sugar but the blood sugar you need to feel alert and energetic. The initial effect of this is a let-down effect and a craving for more caffeine to give you a further boost. A later effect can be excessive and chronic tiredness, even on  waking in the morning. Some people find that many of the psychological complaints common to reactive hypoglycaemia (the emotional yo-yo effect, shakiness, palpitations, weakness, tiredness, etc.) disappear within a few days of stopping caffeine.

NOTE: The fact that caffeine can produce these sensations and symptoms does not mean that it is the only cause of such symptoms. But if you experience similar symptoms and your medical advisor confirms that they do not have a verifiable organic cause then you may wish to cut out caffeine for a few weeks to see if the symptoms reduce or disappear.

Sources of caffeine  

The richest sources of caffeine are tea, coffee, cola drinks, some over-the-counter medications, chocolate, and cocoa.

As little as 20 mgs of caffeine can produce noticeable body and mood changes. As a rough guide to how much caffeine you may be taking on a daily basis...

• An average cup of tea contains around 60 mgs of caffeine. 

•  A cup of instant coffee contains over 100 mgs. Instant decaffeinated coffee contains about 3 mgs.

• Brewed coffee can contain 25-50% more caffeine than instant. Espresso coffee can have a higher concentration of caffeine and it is assimilated more quickly.

• A 12 oz can of regular or diet cola contains between 35 and 45 mgs. of caffeine depending on the brand  

• One ounce of chocolate contains about 15 mgs.

 (Your precise intake of caffeine will, of course, vary with the strength of the drink.  One person's mug of instant coffee might have 75 mgs while another person might prepare a 200 mgs hit!)

Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms

Physical and/or psychological addiction to caffeine is common and withdrawal symptoms usually can occur 6-18 hours after suddenly  stopping caffeine intake.

Withdrawal effects vary considerably from one person to another and can include headaches, drowsiness, lethargy, irritability, trembling, restlessness, and reduced concentration.

As with any addictive drug our sensitivity to caffeine reduces with use – so we need progressively more of it to get the same hit.  

Do not cut out caffeine straight away!

To avoid uncomfortable withdrawal effects it is wise to ease off caffeine over a period of 7-14 days to reduce the discomfort. Reduce and then stop the richest sources (especially coffee) first. It is unwise, particularly if you are a heavy user, to suddenly stop caffeine altogether.

Reducing caffeine too quickly can cause a quite dramatic drop in blood pressure, due to the body becoming over-sensitive to adenosine, and this can cause more blood to gather in the head producing a migraine-like headache.

Muscle cramps, giddiness, excessive sleepiness, and lack of concentration are other common withdrawal effects from going 'cold turkey' on caffeine.  

Tiredness and drowsiness

When you stop caffeine you allow your body to catch up on its lost rest. This takes some time.  Using caffeine to force yourself into activity is like flogging an exhausted horse.

For the first few weeks after stopping caffeine you may find that you are sleeping deeper and for longer. For this reason it is a good idea to allow yourself an extra hour per night for a few weeks, increasing this if you continue to experience lethargy in the mornings.

If you feel drowsy during the day use breathing exercises preferably out of doors, to alert yourself.

And remind yourself that the drowsiness is a sign that you are allowing your body to get back into a more normal state and that your natural energy levels will soon return once things have got back to normal after the onslaught of the caffeine regime.

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