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Some of us simply cannot function in the morning without it, some of us prefer it black, and others want to combine it with pumpkin and spices to get through the cold months, however you like your coffee, it’s one of the most popular beverages consumed by billions of people every single year.
Coffee has also been heavily studied to ensure it’s safe and healthy for us to consume on a daily basis, and while most of the effects are beneficial for the majority of us, it does come with some negative side effects. Most of us don’t experience this aspect of a warm cup of coffee, however, you can very easily begin to feel the negative effects of drinking too much coffee if you’re not careful.
Coffee is a central nervous system stimulant driven by the caffeine content found in every cup. Caffeine can have a wide range of positive benefits, but too much can cause you a wide range of problems on a daily basis.
1. Insomnia
Drinking too much coffee throughout the day can send your central nervous system into overdrive and this may be a good thing to keep you awake if you have a busy day ahead, but it can also prevent you from getting any sleep. Too much coffee can literally keep you awake all night long!
2. Anxiety
Coffee helps to improve your concentration and reaction times by inducing a kind of “hyper activity” mode, however, this can also cause you to experience various different levels of anxiety that can last for hours at a time.
3. Heart Palpitations
The symptoms of palpitations vary from person to person but a palpitation is usually an irregularity of the pulse, an uneasiness in the chest, a flip-flopping in the chest or a strong feeling of the heart beat or pulse. Espresso-based drinks like cappuccinos and lattes are the main causes of palpitations due their high caffeine content.
4. High Blood Pressure
Caffeine can increase your blood pressure which will directly affect your cardiovascular system. Whilst caffeine has not been directly related to heart attacks or strokes, too much caffeine can potentially increase the risk of a cardiovascular event, especially if you suffer from heart conditions. This is only a temporary effect but can last a few hours.
5. Addiction
Caffeine is a psychoactive drug which can induce a euphoric like state where your brain feels like it’s being rewarded with happy chemicals. This can lead to a caffeine dependence in some people which is why you might be in a bad mood every morning before you have your daily fix of the black stuff.
6. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Too much caffeine can mess with your digestive system and induce a laxative like effect on the body. This can cause you to make regular trips to the toilet throughout the day and even give you stomach cramps, or stomach aches.
Conclusion
Everyone will have a different reaction to caffeine depending on their physiology, height and size. You may find that one cup will give you all the energy you need to get you through the, or you may need 4-5 just to get you through to lunch time.
Coffee is generally considered to be safe to consume in sensible amounts, however, you should still limit yourself to no more than 400 milligrams per day, which is about 4 cups. This is considered to be a safe amount for adults to drink.
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