How to reverse effects of caffeine

5 Ways to Recover From Being Overcaffeinated

You were just trying to get the wake-up job done and now this. That joyful lift that you felt at 7 a.m. has turned south. Deep south. Maybe that espresso chaser wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Your eyelid is twitching, your heart is going thumpa thumpa and your leg is doing the cha-cha.

Yep, another overcaffeinated Monday.

We get it. Over-the-top coffee consumption is how you tolerate a day in the life. But now what?

How much is too much

Everybody metabolizes caffeine differently. That’s because your genetics, age, weight, tolerance and liver all play a role in how quickly you process caffeine.

“While the response to caffeine varies, 400 milligrams or above is generally the amount considered excessive for adults,” says Arun Sridhar, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., a cardiac electrophysiologist and specialist in heart rhythm disorders at UW Medicine Heart Institute.

And it’s important to know that the maximum tolerated dose of caffeine differs between adults and children.

“Children weigh less and are more prone to its effects. So we caution against overuse in kids,” says Sridhar.

It’s tough to standardize the measurement of caffeine in coffee because it depends on bean origin, flavor, roast and grind, not to mention water temperature, brewing time and, well, you get the idea … But a typical cup of brewed coffee has caffeine levels from 65 to 120 milligrams while a shot of espresso ranges from 30 to 50 milligrams.

“Rather than a universal set point for how much is too much, it’s when you take in an out-of-the-ordinary amount for you that you experience bad effects,” says Sridhar.

It’s not only coffee that can pole vault you over your own personal caffeine set point but also snack bars, soda, bottled water, energy drinks or over-the-counter or prescription headache or PMS medications, all of which can contain caffeine.

The symptoms of too much caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant. That’s why it helps wake you up in the morning. And it’s a big part of why you like it.

Aside from that jittery leg, there are other signs of too much caffeine. They range from relatively mild symptoms like sweating and restlessness to uncomfortable symptoms like nausea, diarrhea and anxiety.

The good news is that most of these symptoms, unpleasant as they are, won’t endanger your life. Cardiovascular symptoms, on the other hand, require vigilance.

The effects of caffeine on your heart

Caffeine stimulates your heart rate and gives a temporary boost to your blood pressure. And for most people this isn’t a problem.

But in anyone with a pre-existing heart condition (known or not), excessive caffeine can trigger fast and irregular heart rhythms, which could lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

“On a high caffeine dose, people will feel a lot of skipped beats, thumping or a noticeably fast heart rate. If your heart rate is irregular or stuck at a very high rate, if your symptoms just feel overwhelming or if you are dizzy or faint, then you should go to the emergency room,” says Sridhar.

That’s because dizziness can indicate that your body is not pumping enough blood to your brain.

If your symptoms are not overwhelming and don’t include dizziness, but you’re still concerned, then you can make an appointment with a doctor to get checked out instead, he says.

You should also discuss your caffeine intake with a doctor if you have a pre-existing arrhythmia or seizure disorder, as caffeine can trigger these conditions.

Caffeine can contribute to anxiety

It’s caffeine’s effect on your nervous system that produces the jitters. But if you have a predisposition to anxiety, that jitteriness can make you feel even more anxious.

“Jitteriness feels like anxiety to someone who is primed that way,” says Sridhar.

Any heart symptoms you experience can add to this anxiety.

“When people feel their heart thumping hard, this tends to increase their anxiety and can contribute to a feeling of panic,” says Sridhar.

So if you have a predisposition to anxiety or panic attacks, caffeine may exacerbate those feelings. That means that you’re probably not having a heart attack but having a hard time telling the difference between a heart attack and anxiety.

What you can do to feel better

Like recovering from a hangover, you’ll have to wait out your caffeine overdose to get over it completely. And this could take 4 to 6 hours, says Sridhar, unless you’re one of the unlucky few who are caffeine-sensitive, in which case you may have to wait much longer. Sigh.

But while you’re waiting, here are a few things that might help.

No more caffeine. Don’t consume any more caffeine today. Seems like a statement of the obvious, but be sure you don’t absentmindedly nosh on your usual mid-afternoon chocolate-covered snack bar by mistake.

Drink plenty of water. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means that you need to drink extra water to make up for what you’re peeing out. You don’t want to add dehydration to the unpleasantness.

Replace electrolytes. If you have been sick to your stomach or have diarrhea, you’re losing not only water but also electrolytes. You can replace those with an electrolyte replacement solution like Pedialyte.

Take a walk. If you feel a lot of pent-up energy, take a walk to expend some of it. But if you notice anything unusual happening to your heart rate — like a sudden rapid increase — then stop.

Practice deep breathing. If you’re anxious, chances are that your breathing is fast and shallow — and that will only further increase your anxiety. Take slow, deep, deliberate breaths to bring your breathing back to normal and reduce anxiety.

On the bright side, unless you have a cardiac side-effect, chances are you will recover with no permanent damage. So don’t beat yourself up too badly.

“Hopefully you’ll remember the unpleasantness the next time around and say no to that extra cup of coffee,” says Sridhar. “Caffeine is best in moderation.”

How to Get Caffeine Out of Your System

If you’ve had one too many cups of coffee and are feeling jittery, you may wonder if there’s a way to flush the excess caffeine from your system.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant that millions of people rely on each day. Yet, consuming too much of it may cause side effects like difficulty sleeping, an increased heart rate, jitters, and shakiness (1, 2).

This article explains whether you can flush out caffeine and provides tips for reducing jitters and other uncomfortable effects.

Caffeine’s effects are known to last for several hours — and you may have stronger jitters if you drank a lot of coffee, soda, energy drink, or some other caffeinated beverage (3).

In fact, once it has entered your body, there’s not much you can do to flush caffeine out. The only way to get rid of it is to wait for it to naturally flush itself.

Nonetheless, you can take a few steps to minimize its side effects.

Stop caffeinating as soon as you notice adverse effects

If you notice uncomfortable symptoms like shakiness, stop consuming caffeine immediately. Foods and beverages with caffeine include coffee, tea, energy drinks, soda, dark chocolate, and some ice creams and desserts.

Decaf coffee is a good option if you still want to enjoy the flavor and health benefits of coffee. Still, it contains very low amounts of caffeine, at 2–7 mg per cup (240 mL) (4, 5).

Furthermore, pay attention to medications, supplements, and personal care products that may harbor caffeine. For example, over-the-counter pain relievers like Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) can pack upwards of 40–60 mg in a single tablet (6).

Finally, certain performance-enhancing formulas like pre-workout supplements may have high amounts of caffeine, with up to 250 mg in just 2 teaspoons (10 grams).

Wait it out

Caffeine’s stimulatory effects are usually noticeable within the first 45 minutes of intake and can last 3–5 hours (3).

Moreover, it can take up to 10 hours for caffeine to completely clear your system (3).

If you’re worried about sleep, it’s best to stop consuming caffeine 6–8 hours before bedtime.

Stay hydrated

Drinking water is important for staying hydrated throughout the day.

Though limited research is available, many anecdotal reports claim that drinking water helps relieve caffeine-induced jitters. This could be because dehydration may make symptoms worse.

Therefore, it may help to increase your water intake while you wait for the caffeine to leave your system.

Additionally, if you’re not used to caffeine, it may act as a mild diuretic and lead to increased urination and more frequent stools. Though this is rare for those who regularly consume caffeine from coffee or tea, hydrating can help reduce some of these effects (7, 8).

Get moving

Go for a light walk to relieve anxiety and jitters.

Practice deep breathing

If you’re feeling anxious, take slow, deep breaths for 5 minutes. Alternatively, practice meditation to calm your mind and nervous system.

Eat fiber-rich food

Eating may slow the release of caffeine into your bloodstream. Opt for slow-digesting, fiber-rich foods, such as whole grains, beans, lentils, starchy vegetables, nuts, and seeds (1).

Take L-theanine

Though it won’t counteract the stimulatory effects of caffeine, this amino acid supplement may help relieve anxiety and reduce blood pressure. Be sure to speak to your healthcare professional before taking it (9, 10, 11).

summary
Once caffeine is in your system, it’s difficult to get rid of. Avoiding caffeine, staying hydrated, and waiting it out are your best options to reduce its effects.

Most people can safely consume 400 mg of caffeine per day — the equivalent of about 4 cups (945 mL) of coffee (12).

However, caffeine tolerance varies based on age, genetics, weight, and your liver’s ability to process caffeine. Moreover, certain drugs like oral contraceptives and heart medications may increase caffeine’s circulation time in your body (13).

Pregnant women should limit themselves to 200 mg per day, as excessive caffeine intake may raise the risk of preterm birth, miscarriage, and low birth weight (14).

Children should avoid caffeine due to developmental risks, and teenagers should limit their intake (15, 16).

summary
Most people can tolerate up to 400 mg of caffeine per day, or around 4 cups (945 mL) of coffee — though pregnant women, children, and teens should limit their intake.

Though caffeine is recognized as safe, everyone tolerates it differently.

It’s important to pay attention to any unwanted side effects, including headaches, jitters, difficulty sleeping, and increased heart rate. If you experience any of these symptoms, reduce your intake.

Though rare, caffeine overdose can occur and is almost always due to the overconsumption of energy drinks and energy shots. Symptoms include (17):

chest pain
fever
irregular heartbeat
severe dehydration
trouble breathing
uncontrollable muscle movement
vomiting

If you experience any of these symptoms after consuming lots of caffeine, seek medical attention immediately.

summary
Common side effects of caffeine include headaches, jitters, and rapid heart rate. Reduce your intake if you experience any unwanted symptoms. If symptoms worsen or continue, seek medical attention.

Caffeine is an effective, natural way to boost your energy levels, but many people find they’ve consumed too much and want to flush it from their body.

Side effects of excess caffeine intake include difficulty sleeping, jitters, shakiness, and increased heart rate.

Besides waiting it out and avoiding caffeine, there isn’t any effective home remedy to clear caffeine from your system. All the same, you can reduce its side effects by staying hydrated, going for a walk, and eating fiber-rich foods.

Most people can safely tolerate 400 mg of caffeine per day — about 4 cups (945 mL) of coffee — though your personal limits may vary. Be sure to listen to your body and only consume what feels comfortable.

How to get the most benefit and pleasure from coffee

May 16, 2016Food

How does caffeine affect the brain? Is it bad to drink coffee before a workout? Can it help you sleep? Find answers to these and many other questions in our material.

1. What does caffeine do to our brain?

If you drink coffee in moderation, it will give you a boost of energy. And if you overdo it a little, you can get the opposite effect: lethargy, fatigue and even anxiety.

It's all about adenosine, which accumulates in the body and makes us feel sleepy. Caffeine has a structure similar to adenosine and that is why it can partially block its action, allowing us to wake up after a cup of coffee.

The lethal dose of caffeine is 150 mg/kg. This means that at a weight of 70 kilograms, you need to drink about 70 cups of coffee at once for everything to end in tears. Fortunately, you cannot physically do this.

Learn more about how coffee affects the brain in this video.

2. Can I drink coffee before a workout?

In moderation, coffee is useful not only in the morning, but also immediately before exercise. Caffeine helps to cheer up and increases stamina.

Attention! If you have some kind of cardiovascular disease, then there can be no question of any cup of coffee before training.

A small cup of coffee or a few caffeine tablets before a workout can help boost your metabolism and burn more calories. In addition, coffee allows you to train longer and more efficiently, and also relieves muscle pain after exercising the day before.

3. Does coffee help you sleep?

Caffeine is an extremely versatile thing. He is even able to help those who really want to sleep.

If you want to take a short nap and wake up much refreshed, then try the so-called coffee dream. The recipe is simple: a cup of coffee and twenty minutes of rest. This time will be quite enough for caffeine to penetrate the brain. Drink coffee, lie down, relax. Twenty minutes - and you are already able to roll a couple of small mountains.

4. Can early birds drink coffee at night?

Many people avoid late coffee because of the fear of being overexcited and not falling asleep all night. Indeed, caffeine has the ability to knock down circadian rhythms, thanks to which our body understands that it is necessary to go to sleep.

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This problem is more familiar to early risers. A glass of coffee before bed can turn a peppy lover of getting up at an unthinkable early into a real owl. However, it is impossible to predict how coffee will affect any particular person. As they say, if you don't try, you won't know.

5. Where else can you find caffeine besides coffee?

It is a common misconception that coffee contains the highest percentage of caffeine. This is not entirely true. If you are interested in drinks that are designed to fight fatigue and drowsiness, then take a closer look at tea, lemonade and energy drinks. In some varieties of tea, the caffeine content is so high that even the strongest coffee cannot be compared with them.

6. Can I regulate the amount of caffeine?

The caffeine in tea works a little differently than in coffee. The main difference is that its dosage can be adjusted. The content of caffeine in tea depends on the variety, temperature and duration of brewing.

It is believed that the most caffeine in black teas. If tea is poured not with boiling water, but with water heated to 70 degrees, the caffeine content in it decreases. But the longer the tea is brewed, the more caffeine it contains.

7. Which coffees to choose?

Many people think that the concentration of caffeine in coffee depends on the degree of roasting of the beans. Actually it is not. You need to pay attention to the variety of coffee tree. Softer and more delicate Arabica contains less caffeine, and in strong Robusta it is two to three times more.

8. When do you drink coffee?

You are greatly mistaken if you think that the ideal time for a cup of coffee is the first 10 minutes after waking up. Between 8:00 am and 9:00 am, we produce the most cortisol, a hormone that influences our activity throughout the day. And this means that our body is able to wake itself up without the help of coffee.

If you can't wake up, scientifically the best time to drink coffee is from 9:30 to 11:30. Why - find out from the video.

9. How to deal with coffee addiction?

Reduce or stop coffee intake gradually. Switch to tea or alternate between caffeinated coffee and uncaffeinated coffee.

If you find yourself not enjoying coffee as much as you used to, take a monthly detox. Try not drinking coffee to reset your body and bring back the lost sensitivity.

10. How much coffee should I drink?

A small dose of caffeine will be enough to cheer you up a little and put your thoughts in order. To periodically improve performance, drink a drink in small cups every half hour. If this option is not very convenient, pour yourself a whole mug at once, but do not drink in one gulp, but stretch the pleasure.

What to do with a caffeine overdose: tips from a barista

March 6, 2013HealthTips

Heart palpitations, trembling hands, wet palms - all these are not very pleasant consequences of a caffeine overdose.

I love coffee. I like its taste and smell. I love trying different coffee blends and hearing about coffee from people who love coffee and their work. But with all my love for this drink and the presence of a coffee machine at home, I try to control myself and limit myself to a few cups of coffee a day (1 espresso and 1 cappuccino or latte). If, however, I couldn’t resist and I dropped in for a light at my beloved Coffee House to my friends, where it is always cozy, warm and smells delicious, the result is not long in coming. Palpitations, trembling hands, wet palms - all these are not very pleasant consequences of a caffeine overdose.

But sometimes drinking large quantities of coffee is necessary (for example, during a long flight). How to get rid of these unpleasant consequences? The answer to this question is well known to those for whom coffee is work and life. Baristas share their ways to deal with the unpleasant effects of a coffee overdose.

I usually eat bananas and drink a ton of water. If the condition is very serious, similar to a hangover, I eat potatoes and a burger. And, of course, sleep! Alexandra Liltjon, Verve Coffee Roasters

A hearty meal and a walk outside with the dog help quite a bit. Michael Harwood, Carrboro Coffee Roasters

Croissant and a cup of water! Amanda Witt, Everyman Espresso

After a few cups of coffee, you need to replenish your body's fluid stores by drinking plenty of water. Tony Riefel, Octane Coffee

Bananas! Folks, it's been scientifically proven that bananas help stop nervous trembling in the hands and clear the ripples in the eyes after too much espresso. We always bring a bunch of bananas to our Advanced Espresso class and I recommend this for every cuptaking session. Eat bananas! Simon Oderkirk, Spot Coffee

I usually just need a good night's sleep, like after a wild party. Charrow, Joe

When I feel like I've had too much caffeine, it's time for water, B vitamins and a banana. Maybe for a bike ride too. The second coffee roaster I worked for always kept fresh bee pollen in the cuptasting room. This helped too. Trevor Greun, Johnson Public

Water. Much water. Dehydration is evil. Leila Gambari, Caffe Ladro

I have known for a long time that one cup of espresso is equal to 1 cup of water. That is, drinking one cup of coffee to restore water balance, you need to drink 1 glass of water. I think that a glass of water is served with a cup of espresso or Turkish coffee not only to refresh your taste buds and feel all the shades of taste again and again.

Learn more