Beat Your Addiction to Caffeinated Products Today

In our world and the struggle to meet deadlines and get things done, we use various stimulants to help us achieve this means, the most widely used of these is caffeine. This is the most widely used drugs in the world and studies have shown that one out of every three people in the United States have a caffeine intake of two small cups of coffee per day. Many people think that caffeine is only found in coffee but it is not, it is found in teas, sodas (such as Pepsi and Coca Cola), energy drinks, cold remedies and even some sweets.

Caffeine addiction is becoming increasingly relevant in today's society and even though it is not classified as a dangerous drug, it is very easy to develop a strong dependence (both mentally and physicality) on the caffeinated products that are regularly consumed.

Caffeine is a drug which increase is the rate at which your heart pumps blood through your body, it also increases your respiration rate, your blood pressure, hormone secretion and water loss. Essentially caffeine is a stimulant which works on most immediately on your body after you consume it, directly influencing your brain and nervous system. Most people after consuming caffeinated products feel more alert, feel more energetic, have increased the memory capacity and generally think that they are in a happy mood. This sounds good but caffeine can also have problematic side effects especially when consumed in excess.

When the caffeine rush wears off, most people become more tired and droopy than they were originally, before they consumed the caffeinated products. Caffeine stays in your body for approximately 4 hours and can cause insomnia if consumed too late in the night which could add to your general feeling of fatigue, caffeine can also act as a diuretic leading to dehydration and consequent fatigue. Caffeine can also have many different physical and psychological problems such as : nervousness, the inability to concentrate properly, memory loss , shaking and sweating among others. Irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, cancer and birth defects have all been linked to excess caffeine intake.

The magic number when consuming caffeine is approximately 300mg of caffeine, this is easily handled by the body and does not cause any great health risks, it is only when much more of this is consumed that the real problems come into effect.

Stopping your consumption of caffeine immediately will lead to withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and depression so it is much better to decrease your intake gradually if you are experiencing any symptoms of caffeine addiction. The withdrawal symptoms may take four to five days to go away completely, but once it does you can be secure in the knowledge that you no longer have a dangerous addiction to caffeine that can endanger your life.

References
1. Before You Call The Doctor. Ballentine Books. New York 1992
2. The Big Book of Health Tips. The editors of FC&A Publishing .FC&A Publishing
3. Caffeine Addiction. http://www.myaddiction.com/education/articles/caffeine_addiction.html