For many of us, waking up doesn’t mean getting out of bed, but the state you reach after gulping a cup of coffee, or tea. Caffeine is the stimulant here. It’s a drug that works as a stimulant for the central nervous system helping you to beat sleep and get attentive and productive. For some, it stops right here. However, many keep on drinking a cup of caffeine after another to stay alert and focused. And it’s just a matter of time when this habit turns into an addiction. This is primarily because just like any other drug, you need to consume more caffeine the next time to get that effect. Although not formally organised yet, caffeine addiction is a problem that can have a major impact on your health, both physical and mental. If you think that you too cannot function without having more caffeine than you need, then you can consider de-addiction. And to know how one can do that, Onlymyhealth spoke to Dr Ruchi Sharma, Clinical Psychologist, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Having Caffeine
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Before we delve into the nuances of caffeine addiction, let us first understand caffeine. Since it’s a stimulant drug, it has a lot of impact on the central nervous system, said Dr Sharma. It has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of caffeine consumption include:
- Increases alertness
- Increases work productivity
- Reduces sleepiness
These are the primary benefits and most people consume them for these reasons.
Now coming to its disadvantages, although a drug, its dangerous impacts are nowhere close to other drugs such as cocaine, meth, or opioids. However, this doesn’t mean it’s devoid of any ill effects. One of the disadvantages of caffeine consumption is that it leads to an increase in cortisol levels that impacts your sleep cycle.
Also read: Caffeine: Benefits Vs Side Effects And How Much Caffeine Is Healthy To Consume?
What Is Caffeine Addiction?
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Firstly, you must note that caffeine addiction isn’t recognised by either the American Psychiatric Association or the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, research is still going on. Before we look at how to overcome caffeine addiction, let us first understand what addiction is. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommends against drinking over 400-500 milligrams of caffeine in a day, which is about four to five cups. Again, addiction is a subjective term and the level at which someone gets addicted differs from person to person. However, if you stop drinking tea or coffee or cut back its level, and experience withdrawal symptoms like headache, uneasiness, or nausea, that might indicate an addiction to caffeine.
How To Overcome Caffeine Addiction
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Now coming to the question at hand, which is how can one cut back on his/her daily consumption of caffeine or completely quit, here are some tips by Dr Sharma that might help:
- When it comes to quitting caffeine, lifestyle changes are very important, such as setting your sleep-wake cycle.
- Following sleep hygiene is crucial.
- In the run-up to quitting caffeine, understanding why you drink it in the first place might help. After that, you need to make certain behaviour changes that help you cut back on the stimulant.
- Psychotherapy goes a long way in reducing addiction behaviours.
- It’s good that you are trying to cut down on caffeine, but what would be better is that you don’t suddenly stop. This is because if you suddenly stop drinking tea or coffee, then it would lead to withdrawal symptoms and you would immediately jump back into using it, Dr Sharma explained. Hence, it would be better if you cut back gradually by setting weekly or monthly targets and accomplishing them.
Also read: From Caffeine, Sugar To Alcohol: How These 8 Foods Affect Mood
What Are Some Caffeine Alternatives?
Another way to limit your caffeine dependence is to look for other alternatives. Some such caffeine alternatives include:
- Chicory root, whose taste is similar to caffeine but is caffeine-free. You can roast and ground it and prepare a hot beverage for winter.
- Green tea is another option.
- You can also look for other energy-boosting caffeine-free beverages
- Decaf coffee is another alternative you can try
- You can also have golden milk, which is quite popular these days. You prepare it by adding turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and honey to the milk.
These are some of the alternatives you can try to avoid caffeine. However, in the end, it boils down to why you are drinking so much tea or coffee in the first place. Whether it’s to stay alert, or awake, or productive during the day. Once you figure that out, you can look for healthier alternatives.
(With inputs from Dr Ruchi Sharma, Clinical Psychologist, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka)
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