Caffeine Addiction: A Common Legitimate Form Of Drug Addiction
Coffee is a popular drink in many countries. Apart from its flavorful aroma and taste, it gives that familiar morning jolt and seems to hone the drinker's mental edge. But consuming too much coffee has its many downsides and may, in fact, be hazardous to one's health.
A cup of regular brewed coffee contains approximately 103 milligrams of caffeine, a drug familiar to the physician for its being an old-time stimulant. Caffeine stimulates primarily the brain. It may likewise stimulate the heart, increasing the blood pressure and quickening the pulse.
But more than just being a stimulant, caffeine is also considered a "poison", especially when a person becomes heavily dependent on it. The fatal dose of caffeine is listed as 10 grams (1/3 ounce). There certainly is something wrong when a person willingly takes small doses of a poison in order to experience that deceiving lift which the caffeine in coffee provides.
But it shouldn't be difficult to understand this, given the fact that small doses of caffeine serve to conceal fatigue. Fatigue, as we know, is that signal that tells us our body needs to rest. While caffeine eclipses this signal, it doesn't refill the drained energy of the weary person. Hence, the initial lift experienced from a cup of coffee is soon followed by a letdown.
Several studies have sought to prove that caffeine can cause certain health problems. One of the symptoms associated with caffeine addiction is occasional skipped heart beats. The person seems to hear his heart thump when a beat is missed. Once coffee drinking is discontinued, the skipped beat disappears. However, there are cases in which the symptom is related to actual heart disease. In such a case, it will continue even though the person stops drinking coffee.
A person who's hooked on caffeine and wants to cut down should do so gradually. Stopping abruptly can trigger extremely severe headache that can last for days. Caffeine withdrawal, in some people, can also cause nausea, vomiting, sluggishness, depression, and anxiety. These symptoms typically occur within twenty-four to thirty-six hours of the last caffeine intake, lasting for several days to a week.
The same set of withdrawal symptoms may likewise be experienced if a person takes certain drugs that contain caffeine for several days and