This helps explain why some people have no trouble sleeping after coffee late at night, while others lie awake for hours after an afternoon cup of tea.Ĭaffeine is also associated with panic attacks, in which people feel they are losing control and that something horrible is happening. Research shows some people are more susceptible due to differences in their adenosine receptors. So the ideal first-line treatment for anxiety in a patient who uses caffeine is to eliminate it and see how he or she responds, before prescribing anti-anxiety medication.īad habit: Research shows we massively underestimate caffeine's effects on our bodies and brainsīizarrely, there is a genetic predisposition to caffeine-induced psychological effects, such as acute anxiety and even panic attacks. Most people stop at three or four cups of coffee daily.īut they illustrate an important point: while many people complaining of anxiety benefit from psychopharmacological agents, for others, subtracting one drug – caffeine – may be of greater benefit. Other subjects had similar symptoms on 14 cups of coffee a day and once caffeine intake was reduced, symptoms improved dramatically.Ĭlearly, these are extreme examples. Once she withdrew from drinking coffee, her symptoms vanished. She had been consuming an average of ten to 12 cups of strong black coffee a day. She was first diagnosed with an anxiety reaction but later discovered the cause was coffee. Greden has encountered cases such as a 27-year-old nurse who complained of lightheadedness, tremulousness, breathlessness, headache and irregular heartbeat. In his paper Anxiety Or Caffeinism: A Diagnostic Dilemma, he points out that it’s often overlooked that ‘high doses of caffeine – or “caffeinism” – can produce pharmacological actions that cause symptoms essentially indistinguishable from those of anxiety neuroses’. John Greden, of the University of Michigan, says too much caffeine can make almost anyone anxious. So while those physiological changes come together to give many of us a reliable boost, caffeine can have serious psychological effects.Īnd it’s not just a problem for people particularly susceptible to caffeine. That energy kick alters the brain – and it works hard and fast.īad brew: A quarter teaspoon of pure caffeine powder will lead to unpleasantness ¿ racing heart, sweating, acute anxiety The medical term is generalised anxiety disorder and it affects about three million people in the UK.Īt the same time we have a national obsession with tea, coffee and energy drinks, yet few of us stop and think about the impact of caffeine on our minds. One adult in 20 now suffers anxiety, a feeling of unease or fear that can be mild or severe. While a 16th of a teaspoon of pure caffeine powder gives a solid boost to a regular user, raising that to just a quarter teaspoon will lead to unpleasantness – racing heart, sweating, acute anxiety.Īnd it is this latter side effect that is particularly concerning, given the soaring incidence of worry and depression. In excess, it is unpleasant, and in large enough doses it can even be fatal. It is an extremely powerful, psychoactive substance. You may think that is fantastic – an easy, cheap way to rev up your day – but research shows we massively underestimate the drug’s effects on our bodies and brains. For at their essence, tea and coffee are simply convenient, stigma-free vessels for funnelling caffeine into our bodies. Coffee kick: Caffeine is an extremely powerful, psychoactive substanceĬaffeine is a drug most of us take daily.
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