The feeling of coffee overdose often brings discomfort, causing the body to fall into a state of fatigue and loss of concentration. Although this phenomenon is generally not dangerous for healthy people, understanding the causes and how to handle it will help you be more proactive when you unfortunately encounter it.
If you are experiencing coffee overdose or want to find ways to prevent it from happening again, the information below will certainly be useful.
Causes of coffee overdose
The main culprit causing this phenomenon is the caffeine in coffee. When the body takes in too much pure coffee, the amount of caffeine strongly affects the nervous system, causing a feeling of overdose. Depending on each person, the level of sensitivity varies: some people feel uncomfortable after just a small sip, while others have to drink up to 70–80ml before symptoms begin.
Caffeine works by inhibiting the effects of adenosine – a neurotransmitter that creates feelings of sleepiness and fatigue. At the same time, it also stimulates the body to release adrenaline – a hormone that helps increase excitement and energy, making you feel more alert.
What are the symptoms of coffee overdose?
Coffee overdose symptoms are very easy to recognize, especially after using coffee and experiencing at least 2 of the following symptoms, you can confirm that you are experiencing coffee overdose.
Internal symptoms
- Feeling of stomach burning, stomach churning, restlessness similar to when nervous.
- Heart rate increases rapidly, accompanied by breathing faster than normal.
- Intermittent headaches, sometimes accompanied by nausea.
External symptoms
- Body sweats a lot, hands and feet shake uncontrollably.
- When communicating, you may speak quickly, even stutter.
- Some people also experience mild muscle twitching or red rashes similar to allergic reactions.
After reading this, you’ve probably answered the question “is coffee overdose dangerous?” right? It’s dangerous, the above symptoms will cause extremely uncomfortable sensations, more seriously may require the help of a doctor. So what to do when experiencing coffee overdose, please refer to the ways to relieve coffee overdose below.
How to treat coffee overdose
When experiencing coffee overdose, you can immediately apply the following simple but remarkably effective methods. Usually, within about 30 minutes, the uncomfortable symptoms will decrease significantly and the body will quickly regain balance.
Drink lots of filtered water
This is the easiest method to implement but also must be done first because it brings the fastest and clearest results. As soon as you notice signs of coffee overdose, you should drink lots of water (drink until you feel your body has enough water) and then sit and rest.
To put it simply, filtered water will help dilute the concentration of caffeine in the blood and promote the process of eliminating this substance through the urinary tract.
About 15–30 minutes after drinking a lot of water, the signs of coffee overdose will noticeably decrease. Note that after each urination, you need to continue to supplement more water so that the caffeine elimination process is not interrupted. Thanks to that, the coffee overdose condition will be thoroughly resolved.
Eat starchy foods
Starchy foods such as rice, bread, cereals, green rice… have the effect of absorbing some of the liquid in the stomach, including caffeine. This slows down the process of this substance being absorbed into the body and causing overdose.
In addition, starch also helps soothe the feeling of stomach burning, hot stomach and at the same time supplement energy so the body can recover soon.
Rest to relieve coffee overdose
After supplementing water and eating more starch, you should take time to rest. This is when the body needs to stabilize so that metabolic activities take place smoothly, helping caffeine to be eliminated faster. Thanks to that, the symptoms of coffee overdose will also gradually disappear.
You can sit still or lie down and close your eyes to relax, combined with slow and steady breathing to stay calm. Limit vigorous exercise because it will prolong the state of fatigue.
A common question is: “How long does coffee overdose last?“. In reality, this depends on each person’s constitution. If you have applied the above methods, perhaps after only about 30 minutes, the level of coffee overdose will decrease by more than 80%, your body will almost return to normal state.
Notes when drinking coffee to avoid overdose
Surely after experiencing the feeling of coffee overdose, no one wants to encounter this condition again. Therefore, please refer to and immediately apply the following notes to enjoy coffee properly, both safe for health and avoid uncomfortable phenomena.
Dilute the coffee
A simple way is to reduce the amount of coffee and add more filtered water or ice to the cup. This will dilute the caffeine concentration, so the body only absorbs a smaller amount, limiting the risk of overdose.
Drink a moderate amount
Determine your own tolerance limit. For example, if you overdose after drinking 2 cups, then the next times you should only stop at 1 cup. To be safer, you should drink slowly, prolonging the enjoyment time so that caffeine does not enter the body too much at the same time.
Eat a full meal before drinking coffee
When the stomach already has food, the amount of caffeine will be absorbed more slowly, more diluted. Conversely, drinking coffee when hungry is very easy to cause churning, stomach burning, affecting the stomach. Moreover, when hungry, the body tends to quickly absorb everything taken in, so the risk of coffee overdose is higher.
Avoid drinking with other stimulants
Absolutely do not combine coffee with alcohol, beer, energy drinks or beverages containing stimulants. If you drink coffee with beer and alcohol, caffeine can reduce the feeling of intoxication, making you inadvertently drink more and you can probably imagine the consequences of alcohol abuse.
In addition, if you are experiencing coffee overdose and use other stimulants, the body can easily fall into an uncontrolled state, even vomiting for no clear reason. This is extremely dangerous and must be absolutely avoided.
Coffee overdose, although it does not cause serious consequences, but for those with a history of cardiovascular disease, you must be very careful not to drink too much or drink according to the dosage prescribed by your doctor. With the above sharing, I hope you now know the symptoms of coffee overdose as well as how to overcome it.
Wishing you always enjoy coffee in a comfortable mood, drink coffee in moderate amounts so that it is always a beverage that brings alertness.
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