Last Updated on December 3, 2020
© London Southend Airport
As far as we know, coffee consumption dates back to the 15th century. It was in Yemen, a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, that the coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed in a similar process to the one we still do today.
A couple of centuries later the Europeans discovered this wonderful drink and it didn’t take long before the first coffeehouses in England began to appear.
A lot has changed since those ancient times, but coffee has remained one of the most popular drinks worldwide. We would even go as far as to say that a large part of the population can’t start the workday without their morning cup of coffee.
But what makes it so popular? It is a combination of its very specific and strong taste, the incredible aroma, and its powerful effect on the human body.
Caffeine intake stimulates the central nervous system, heart, and muscles, increasing your mental alertness, concentration levels, and reducing fatigue.
These effects of coffee make it very appealing and are the reason why so many people drink several cups of coffee throughout the day.
This may eventually lead to the development of coffee addiction. Although coffee is generally regarded as a safe drink, the excess of caffeine in your body can lead to a few health complications. Continue reading to find out more!
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1. Anxiety
One can argue that the main reason behind coffee’s popularity is related to its effect on alertness. Caffeine blocks the production of the brain chemical responsible for making you feel tired (adenosine) while simultaneously inducing adrenaline and cortisol release.
This combination is responsible for giving you that energy boost. However, a high dosage can make some people feel overwhelmed and exacerbate the feeling of anxiety that may already be present due to an emotional struggle or the stress of work.
This side effect of caffeine has been duly studied, and the medical community even lists it as a common caffeine-related syndrome under the name of caffeine-induced anxiety disorder. In people who are not used to ingesting caffeine, a high dosage can even trigger anxiety attacks.
2. Stomach issues
Have you ever noticed how that morning cup of coffee or that expresso after lunch always seems to get you to that last stage of the digestive process really quickly? That’s because coffee has a laxative effect.
It promotes the release of a hormone called gastrin that is produced in the stomach to speed up colon activity. Drinking too much coffee may lead to loose stools or even diarrhea, depending on your stomach’s sensitivity.
It was long believed that coffee could worsen the symptoms of stomach disease and cause loss of appetite, ulcers, nausea, and vomiting, for example. But recent studies failed to find a causal relationship between coffee intake and these digestive problems, even in people who usually drink their coffee on an empty stomach.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be aware of the signs your body sends out. If you notice that you are experiencing stomach issues after drinking coffee, you must stop drinking it to see if you feel better. No matter how flavorful it is.
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3. Sleep deprivation
Coffee is also found to have a negative impact on your sleeping habits. That’s a very well-known fact and is the reason why most people don’t drink caffeine after the sun goes down.
If you frequently have trouble falling asleep, you should first look into what you are drinking in the hours before going to bed. And it is not just coffee you should avoid.
Many people don’t realize just how much caffeine some soda, cocoa, and energy drinks contain. According to researchers, caffeine can still be affecting your body five hours after being ingested (that’s the average.
Depending on your organism, the time period may range from one and a half hours to nine hours!). This means that even your 4 p. m. coffee that gets you through those harsh last hours of your workday could still affect your ability to easily fall asleep later at night.
It is important to note that sleep deprivation can affect your body functions and systems in different ways and lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, accidents, memory issues, poor balance, mood changes, a weakened immune system, and increase risk of heart disease.
4. Hypertension
As we have mentioned in the introductory section, caffeine stimulates the central nervous system. In some people, this may also increase the blood pressure to dangerous levels. Although this effect seems to be temporary, it might become problematic for those who are constantly drinking coffee or caffeinated beverages during the day.
High blood pressure is the main risk factor for some serious health problems such as heart attack and stroke. This is why doctors recommend their hypertension patients to stay away from coffee.
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5. Fatigue and headaches
Caffeine will give you an immediate energy boost, sure. But what happens to your body once the caffeine leaves your organism?
After reviewing dozens of previous studies on the effect of caffeine, a group of scientists concluded that it is somewhat frequent for people to feel unusual fatigue the day after consuming a high amount of caffeine.
Headaches are another one of the most common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Caffeine narrows the blood vessels on your brain, so once you’re no longer under the effect of that stimulant the vessels will get back to normal and increase the blood flow to the brain. This abrupt change can cause a headache whose intensity varies from person to person.
There is no right answer to the question asked in the title of this article. As we just emphasized, it will always differ according to the sensitivity of each organism. For some people, four coffees a day might be the absolute limit, while for others three cups of coffee may already be too many.
