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How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to Caffeine
- Borkdude 10y agoIt's worth reading the comments under the article as well.
- proactivesvcs 10y agoI went from drinking 6-10 mugs of coffee a day to zero. I'd usually have a few cups of tea as well, but now drink decaf tea around 2-5 times a day. The only withdrawal symptoms I had were finally getting quality sleep and feeling much more vital. Only a few days after stopping, the smell of instant coffee, beans or ground make me recoil. They smell like poison. I'd been drinking that much coffee for maybe ten years and I think my sleep quality had been going downhill for a long time. I'd get to sleep without a problem, but woke up late, always felt tired and hated mornings. I'm now a morning person. I'm glad it was so easy to kick. Thinking back at how I felt and for how long leaves me with a sense of loss of self.
- zzalpha 10y agoI often wonder what level of exposure you need to become addicted, and how much is controlled by individual variability. Speaking for myself, I'm a 2-3 cups a day on the weekdays kind of person (up until about 2-3pm at which point I cut myself off). But on weekends I often have none (just too lazy to make a cup), and I've never experienced any associated withdrawal symptoms.
- 0xcde4c3db 10y ago> I often wonder what level of exposure you need to become addicted, and how much is controlled by individual variability. The half-life of caffeine definitely has a lot of individual variability (3-7 hours is apparently the reference range, but I think the overall observed range is wider with e.g. other drugs or liver dysfunction). I'm not sure whether a longer or shorter half-life would be more conducive to addiction.
- S_Daedalus 10y agoGenerally speaking, greater tolerance of a drug is correlated with higher rates of addiction, but... "correlated", so...?
- zzalpha 10y agoTolerance and half-life are related but not the same. A person may have low tolerance/high sensitivity (due to fewer adenosine receptors) but metabolize quickly. I actually find I have high sensitivity and metabolize slowly, which is why it's important I don't have coffee after mid-afternoon. My bet is that long half-life/slow metabolism increases predilection for addiction (due to longer duration of exposure), but that's just a guess.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- sotojuan 10y agoI'm interested too as I drink 2-4 a day even on weekends but have sometimes gone without for random reasons like travel and stuff and I've never gotten withdrawals or even headaches.
- maxerickson 10y agoI find 3 cups (24 fl oz) to be a sort of tipping point where if I have been drinking more than that I notice when I don't have any (no headache though). I try to make fairly strong coffee.
- khedoros 10y agoI drink 8 ounces almost every morning at work. Some weekends, I have coffee. Some weekends, I have none. No headaches, nausea, etc. I enjoy the taste, and I do get the stimulant-like benefits, so my best guess is that I'm walking the razor's edge, or that I'm blessed with a relatively low sensitivity to the drug, or something. At night, I can have a espresso, coffee, or caffeinated soda at 9pm and be ready to sleep at 11. I've stopped drinking it for weeks at a time before, with no difficulty doing so. All of the stories about caffeine's extreme effects are completely alien to me; I've always considered it a fairly gentle substance.
- treehau5 10y agoI am curious because I think I am in the same boat as you are -- did you try first seeing if you experienced the benefits (better sleep) if you cut caffeine at a certain time during the day, i.e 3p.m seems to be the magic number for a lot of people. I am very curious about this topic because I am considering dropping caffeine, but then again I have read so much scientific literature about coffee's antioxidant properties, and caffeine being good for memory, etc, plus I love the taste of coffee, and always prefer to drink it black (I can just eat coffee beans)
- proactivesvcs 10y agoI went straight to zero coffee, and from being someone who really enjoyed the smell and taste, to finding it unpleasant. I eat a balanced diet and exercise often so I have no worries about losing whatever benefit caffeine may have given me.
- rzzzt 10y agoI drank 4-5 cups (5 oz) of coffee each workday for quite a few years now. Somehow I only associated the whole thing with work, so it didn't even occur to me to drink coffee on the weekends. The end result was two days of constant sleep with headaches and general grogginess, followed by a workweek of OK-ish performance. I am now at week two in the process of quitting, because I'm getting increasingly concerned about being in the withdrawal zone as well as being "fully caffeinated". The first week was much worse than the second one. Hopefully I get back to my old self soon.
- PacketPaul 10y agoYou should be there soon. I've quite numerous times throughout my life and it took me exactly seven days each time. But those seven days were hell. The funny thing is how hard it is to avoid caffeine after you quit. In the fast food restaurant there are almost no decaf diet drinks. So do you want caffeine or diabetes?
- znpy 10y agoIt would be nice to hear more coffee-quitting stories like the one from proactivesvcs.
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- wonkaWonka 10y agoI have quit and resumed coffee many times over the past decade, and abstained from caffeine during breaks for a month or more. Migraines are a thing. Lasting up to a full day, but rarely longer. Beyond that, quitting caffeine is unremarkable. The worst part about it, is trying to find other low calorie beverages that aren't water, and have no aspartame or sacharine, since I find all artificial sweeteners (including the new-school "natural" variety) as disgusting contaminants. Getting back on coffee after a break is fun. Caffeine is always better after a tolerance break. Tolerance, after which caffeine becomes the new, ineffective normal, creeps in at month number 2 or 3 of constant use. I've dosed on uninterrupted supplies off caffeine for blocks as long as 18 months. A solid gram of caffeine a day is probably not the best thing, but not debilitating or deleterious as far as I can tell. I try to not drink caffeine, when incensed as a crutch for obligations at work. Then we're talking dependence and prostitution, of a sort, know what I mean?
- proactivesvcs 10y agoI moved to fruit/herbal teas. Strawberry & raspberry, blueberry & spiced apple and camomile & honey are my favourite. I've gotten in the habit of keeping a stock of naval oranges for the fruit teas - halve the orange, put a big slice in the mug, and quarter the rest. Nice way to increase fresh fruit intake and it makes a really nice drink.
- buckhx 10y agoIf you haven't already, try giving seltzer water a try. We go through cases of it in my office as a non caloric/caffeinated beverage.
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- Rainymood 10y agoI am very sensitive to caffeine (at least relative to my peers it seems). I usually drink 1 cup of coffee to wake up. This cup gives me an instant boost from groggy/sleepy to razor sharp. Sometimes I have another cup somewhere in the day but I really need to stop drinking coffee by around 3 pm. It baffles me that some of my peers tell stories of drinking coffee at 11pm and then being able to fall asleep. If I drink coffee after 3pm and I try to sleep my brain just doesn't stop. It keeps turning and turning and before you know it it's 5 in the morning and I haven't slept. Are there any other who experience this kind of sensitivity to caffeine? I have to say, it doesnt feel like I am addicted. I quit (with ease) on vacation in China for 3 months and I noticed no real withdrawal symptoms and was able to function throughout the day but coffee does help to wake me up quicker.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoIsn't that all explained in the OP? It has to do with growing more receptors over time, so it takes a bigger dose of caffeine to fill them all.
- Rainymood 10y agoI apologise. I opened up the tab and read the first couple of paragraphs, then I wrote this comment.
- 1_player 10y agoI'm like that! Have always had an espresso or two per day, and anytime I have one in the afternoon I'm wide awake till 7 in the morning. Also, even when used to high amounts of caffeine, it's really easy for me to get the jitters. My tolerance remains low no matter what. I would stop if only I didn't LOVE the brew.
- Rainymood 10y ago>Also, even when used to high amounts of caffeine, it's really easy for me to get the jitters. Oh yes, easily! When I drink too much coffee and try to browse my smartphone (i.e. facebook feed) it is really noticeable that my thumb is very shaky. >I would stop if only I didn't LOVE the brew. True. Although there is a crapload of bad coffee out there as well.
- tdkl 10y ago> Regular caffeine use alters your brain’s chemical makeup, leading to fatigue, headaches and nausea if you try to quit. I drank my last drop of coffee three and half years ago, because I was noticing those same symptoms on days I didn't get my "dose", which got me worried. So I've endured the headache and irritation for about 2-3 days, then it was over. Interestingly I never craved coffee after, nor did I replace it with tea or something, it must have something to do with that I mostly drank coffee when hanging out with people. Now I order a vitamin powder drink with cold water that's sold in my country. In the mornings, I enjoy cold water or cold milk for refreshment and focus.
- an_account 10y agoFor what it is worth, there are no long term detriments to ones health from drinking coffee. A lot of studies actually show that it is quite good for various aspects of ones long term health. There are only some negative short term effects, like raised heart rate or mild withdrawals. So there's no reason to be worried about drinking coffee, unless those short term effects bother you.
- astrocat 10y ago> For this reason, caffeine isn’t technically a stimulant on its own... but a stimulant enabler: a substance that lets our natural stimulants run wild. This is the bit I find fascinating and perhaps explains why some people are so sensitive to caffeine and others don't experience discernable effects. There are probably underlying physiological (and/or psychological) differences in individuals self-stimulant production, and caffeine magnifies those effects. Armchair scientist conjecture: I'd suspect that people who are considered "Type-A" are more strongly affected by caffeine as it enhances their natural, self-stimulating mechanisms (whatever those are).
- johndoe4589 10y agoI'm drinking 1-2 cups a day. The question for me is what do I get for quitting caffeine? For me it's just a ritual in the morning. I have to admit the coffee I make at home with the Bialetti is so bad compared to the one I can get in town, that I wonder why I bother sometimes. I just can't make that thing work. Even with the freshly ground coffee I buy at the market. It tastes nice on the day I bought it, it tastes like crap already the next day. But if I can drink just one good cup of coffee like the one I can get in town, and I get that nice little kick I'm happy and I don't really need any more the rest of the day. If only I could get that nice little kick just with my morning coffee! Sometimes I wonder if I also have built a tolerance, but I think the coffee I make with the Bialetti is just crap. I barely feel it. But even though my morning coffee is usually not very good... I'm still wondering what's in there for me quitting just 1-2 cups a day? The people commenting on the article are abusing the substance, 5-10 cups a day? 2 liters of soda? For years on end?
- ComodoHacker 10y ago>It tastes nice on the day I bought it, it tastes like crap already the next day. How do you store it?
- YZF 10y agoBuy beans and a grinder... You can buy a Hario hand grinder for ~10$ and it'll take ~2-3 minutes of grinding or splurge on an electric ceramic burr grinder for ~$400.
- SyneRyder 10y ago+1 vote for the Hario hand grinder. I've tried some others that were a pain to use and made it difficult to get a good grind size. The Hario is a huge improvement over what I was using. Very convenient too.
- zzalpha 10y agoIt tastes nice on the day I bought it, it tastes like crap already the next day. Get a decent grinder. Buy and store whole beans and grind as needed. They'll last a lot longer. Also store in an air tight container in a cool dark place. Beans usually ship in a bag you can reseal (zip lock or fold-over). Make sure you evacuate as much air as you can when you close it up.
- throwawaylalala 10y agoI "quit" every year for about a month;I use l-tyrosine to avoid withdrawal symptoms for a few days then I'm fine. I ha e data that indicates for me that it might reduce my heart disease chance, so thats why I dont quit forever...
- cylinder 10y agoIf you get anxiety and jitters from coffee, try a bit of NALT powder afterwards. It has eliminated mine. Could be placebo but worth a try.
- emptybits 10y agoI think it's worth noting that caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, at least with respect to blood vessels in the brain. (Aside: This may be why it provides partial headache relief for some.) So while it's true that our brains get a stimulating boost from caffeine, it's also a fact that caffeine significantly reduces cerebral blood flow. A moderate dose (250 mg) may reduce cerebral blood flow by 27%(!) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748160/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748160/ I'm no brain scientist but I would expect this to reduce some cognitive function to some degree.
- evincarofautumn 10y agoAnecdotally, with caffeine I find it easier to do something concrete and relatively mindless, such as cleaning, or writing code that’s similar to something I’ve written before; but it’s much harder to figure out something novel or explain things to others. I wouldn’t be surprised if reduced blood flow turned out to be one cause of that effect.
- iaw 10y agoIf you dig you can find research that indicates that caffeine is the most potent cognitive boosting chemical we know of to date. I think the first half of your point, that we're reducing blood flow to the brain, is a valid one. However, evidence indicates that whatever negative impact on cognition occurs are overpowered by the positive impacts. Another factor to consider is how much blood flow is correlated to cognitive abilities. Obviously some is needed, but after sufficient oxygen levels are reached I suspect other factors (such as glial cells) play stronger roles. Definitely a fascinating field of study.
- vermooten 10y agoToo much caffeine caused me to suffer acid reflux, so I've had to give it up :( But after a few days of bad headaches, life is as it was before. Hopefully less acid reflux now. But yeah totally addictive. Love it. (Ok: loved it.)
- ak39 10y agoI love coffee. Good quality coffee is quite possibly the only "beverage" pleasure I look forward to without post imbibing guilt. I tried quitting once in 2009 after I noticed mild chest pains and after receiving advice from the doc - this was during a period when project stress made me guzzle 4 to 6 cups a day. I had quit for a few months (6 I think) ... then one day the familiar aroma from one of my colleague's freshly brewed cup couldn't be resisted. That first cup of coffee after a long period of abstinence felt like heaven. I now force quit every once in a while if only to repeat that experience. It's an addiction of the highest order.
- JulianMorrison 10y agoMine, for some reason, does not. I drink a fair amount, like two or more mugs a day, but on off-days, nothing happens.
- rainy-day 10y agoI'm very sensitive to caffeine and I have come up with one rock-solid rule that works for me: i can have a cup of coffee or tea but then, on the next day, I have to be caffeine-free, no exceptions, ever. The way I explain it to myself is that my body goes into an unnatural mode of operation on caffeine, the mode that is both productive and creative - and even pleasant, but I need some time to go back to normal state, which takes at least a day. If I have a low caffeine drink like a lightly brewed green tea, I don't get much of the benefit but still get the downside: I need to completely cut off caffeine for a time.
- deelowe 10y agoAm I the only one that doesn't seem to get addicted to coffee? I can drink a cup and go right to bed. I love coffee and drink a cup a day, but can also stop without any ill effects. I don't think I've ever had a caffeine headache. I travel for work for a week or two at a time and have gone entire trips without any caffeine.
- proactivesvcs 10y agoI never had a problem getting to sleep, it was getting up in the morning that was a killer for me. When I did drink coffee I am certain I was getting very poor sleep. Now I wake up early and have energy when I get up, and I am also remembering my dreams now.
- Borkdude 10y agoAlso check out the group 'Overcoming Caffeine Addiction' on Facebook