We are celebrating National Caffeine Awareness Month this March. Over 80% of Americans consume caffeine in some form each day, most commonly in coffee. Research studies have shown that drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day (300-400 milligrams per day) has minimal adverse effects for most persons. In fact, there are some beneficial effects of caffeine consumption to include improved mood and increased mental awareness. In part, this comes from caffeine’s blockage of adenosine receptors which act as depressants.

However, too much caffeine consumption has negative effects to include increased anxiety, sleep disorders, as well as increased heart rate and blood pressure. In the mental health arena I am familiar with the psychiatric diagnoses of caffeine induced anxiety disorders such as panic states as well as caffeine induced sleep disorders. These represent extreme states of dysfunction secondary to excessive caffeine intake. Consumption of caffeine has long been linked to anxiety. The effects of caffeine and the symptoms of anxiety both increase activity within the sympathetic nervous system. Caffeine has been linked to the aggravation and maintenance of anxiety disorders, and the initiation of panic or anxiety attacks in those who are already predisposed to such phenomena. Caffeine usage surpassing 200 mg has been shown in some studies to increase the likelihood for anxiety and panic attacks in a population. Excessive amounts of caffeine can result in symptoms from general anxiety to obsessive-compulsive and phobic symptoms.

Given that most people will not give up their caffeine (including me and my morning coffee), what are some tips and strategies to try to manage and limit your caffeine intake?

Get enough sleep. Then you will need less caffeine during the day. Most people need 7-8 hours per day but often get less in our busy world.
Engage in exercise. This gets your body active, including your heart, blood flow, and your general metabolism.
Get active and take a walk several times a day outdoors or around your building. As you move about you get energized and if you go outside you absorb Vitamin D. You will feel more alert.
Take some deep breaths way down in your stomach. With deep breathing, you get more oxygen to your brain and feel more alert, less sleepy, and have less need for caffeine.
Keep busy. Activity builds on itself. If you stall on some major project, engage in smaller projects that can be done more quickly. While this might seem to violate the tenets of time management in staying with the high priority task, sitting around inactive too long will result in the kind of decreased alertness and drowsiness which may drive you to the coffee pot.
Manage the stressors in your life. People often say that they need a cup of coffee to “calm their nerves”. While this actually is inconsistent with the physiological effects of caffeine, it would be much better to find ways to manage the stressors in your life. Some of the above steps can help. For more information, please see our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056. For more information about the book, authors, and stress, please see our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com. So, you need not entirely give up your caffeine but rather manage it before it manages you. Good luck on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For more information on these and related topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com.