Wellness Wisdom: Myths about Caffeine

Caffeine is a naturally occurring central nervous system stimulant and is the most widely taken psychoactive stimulant globally. In the U.S., adults consume an average of 135 mg of caffeine daily, or the amount in 1.5 cups of coffee (1 cup = 8 ounces). Caffeine can be found in coffee, espresso, tea, soda, chocolate, and energy drinks. Check out a couple myths about caffeine below!

• You cannot have withdraws from caffeine.: If you were to stop taking caffeine abruptly as a habitual user, you would have some withdraw symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and irritability starting as early as 12 hours from the last time you consumed caffeine. However, they generally subside after a week.

• Caffeine causes insomnia at night: Insomnia is a common mild side effect of caffeine use. Caffeine peaks in your blood anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Furthermore, it can remain in your blood from 1.5 to 9.5 hours. Caffeine intake later in the day close to bedtime can interfere with good sleep quality. For most people, consuming caffeine in the morning should not affect your sleep at night.  

Next time you want to enjoy some caffeine, think about all the facts! 

References:  

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/caffeine/#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%20adults%20consume,healthy%20adults%20to%20consume%20daily. 

Evans J, Richards JR, Battisti AS. Caffeine. [Updated 2022 Nov 28]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519490/