Caffeine: How Much is Too Much?
By Grace McGowan
We’re a month into the fall semester, and as school and extracurricular commitments become more intensive, so does my caffeine intake. I’ve been a regular coffee drinker since freshman year of high school, and during high-stress times at school or work, coffee helps me feel more alert and focused. Lots of people, especially busy students, turn to caffeine to improve their concentration and to counter fatigue. This can mean drinking lots of coffee or energy drinks in order to be productive. But when do the drawbacks of caffeine outweigh its benefits?
The FDA recommends limiting your caffeine intake to 400 milligrams a day. That’s about four cups of brewed coffee or one to two energy drinks. Of course, not everyone’s tolerance to caffeine is the same, so pay attention to how your body reacts to coffee or energy drinks. If you notice that the amount of caffeine you’re consuming is causing you to have jitters, anxiety, headaches, nausea, or insomnia, you’ll want to reduce your caffeine intake. The amount of sleep you get and how much you’ve eaten before having caffeine are also important things to pay attention to. The less you sleep, the more likely you are to experience negative effects from caffeine. Also, avoid having caffeine on an empty stomach.
A standard caffeine intake isn’t linked to long-lasting health problems, though caffeine can briefly raise your blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you already have concerns about high blood pressure, it might be better to limit your caffeine intake to 200 milligrams a day or to stop drinking caffeine altogether (of course, consult your doctor about any serious health concerns).
If you habitually have too much caffeine, you may develop a caffeine dependency. This can mess up your sleep patterns. Drinking lots of coffee during the day prevents you from falling asleep at night, which causes fatigue, which causes you to drink more coffee the next day. It’s easy to see how this cycle can lead to sleep deprivation and more health concerns. In order to break this cycle, slowly decrease the amount of caffeine you’re having in order to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches (they’re a real thing, I promise) and try to drink coffee early in the day so that its energizing effects will wear off by the time you need to go to bed.
One final note is to avoid any nutritional supplements or protein powders that contain high concentrations of caffeine. The FDA points out that these products are often sold in packaging containing thousands of servings, which means that you have to pay attention and measure out a safe serving size in order not to consume a toxic or even deadly level of caffeine. While it’s highly unlikely that you would accidentally drink a dangerous level of coffee or an energy drink, it’s easy to overdo it with these kinds of concentrated caffeine products. Stay aware of those risky products, and drink a healthy amount of coffee or energy drinks to help you get through the semester!
