THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF CAFFEINE

By Andy Hillocks

We are becoming a nation of particularly bad sleepers, averaging just 6.8 hours of sleep a night. Work, gym, socials, we live such fast paced lives that something has to take a hit and often it’s our sleep. The recommended 8 hours of sleep a night is becoming a distant memory and with that our energy levels are taking a nose dive.

Enter caffeine, whether it’s a coffee or an energy drink it’s becoming many peoples saving grace. Don’t get me wrong, caffeine is a strong stimulant, it will increase alertness, cognition and if training, physical performance. However, it’s a drug and just like any drug you can build up a tolerance. Meaning the more you drink, the more you’ll need to feel the effects. It soon becomes a vicious cycle where you are drinking caffeine all day to feel awake.

Caffeine also has a half-life of around 5-6 hours, meaning if you drink 100mg (found in an average cup of coffee) at say 5pm then at 10pm you’ll still have 50mg, almost an espresso left in your system. This will no doubt impact your sleep which thus begins the vicious cycle between caffeine and sleep. You need caffeine to stay awake, but then the caffeine impacts your sleep.

The answer, take a detox. Detox is a word over used in the fitness industry but this is the one of few times it is relevant. If you find after day one that you’re getting headaches, you almost feel flu like symptoms, then a detox has been very much needed.

It takes 1-2 weeks to detox yourself from caffeine, but once those 2 weeks are over you’ll feel like a new person. Not only that, but you won’t be so reliant on caffeine anymore. It’s a win win. Unless you’re like me and you don’t drink coffee for the caffeine you drink it because you love the taste of coffee, then those 1-2 weeks are going to be hell, but you’ve got this!

Pic: Nathan Dumlao