To a lot of people, their morning starts with the smell of the soothing coffee. Drinking it is like a warm hug and there is a moment of not feeling overwhelmed by the day. However, the question is what happens when you use that same cup that causes you to feel alive and you are increasing your stress quietly? A wide variety of associations has been made regarding the relationship between caffeine and anxiety as well as associating coffee with increased levels of focus and energy; however, excessive Drinking too much coffee might be causing your mental health to go into a bad state.
You know that one day Coffee Stops Being Comfort and Starts Being Chaos
Picture this: It is your third cup of coffee and you are running late and struggling to be efficient. Suddenly you feel your heart racing, your thoughts in a flurry, and you are not able to shake off the uneasiness. It is not only stress, it is your body responding to caffeine overdose.
Research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee simulates or aggravates an anxious condition. When your nervous system is overstimulated, you can also develop increased heart rate, jitters, restlessness, and even panic attack. One cup may leave you hyper focused, three or four cups may make you frazzled rather than focused. That is why it is so important to realize how to maintain the equilibrium between anxiety and caffeine.
The Mental Health Balancing Act
It is not coffee which is the villain but it is moderation. Each person has a threshold, and professionals recommend medical treatment not to exceed 400 mg of caffeine per day (approximately 3-4 cups of coffee brewed). Even less may be better if you are a person who tends to worry, have insomnia or racing thoughts.
The difficult thing is? Caffeine is opportunistic, it is in tea, chocolate, sodas, energy drinks and some medicines. Thus, the jitteriness may not be all that of your latte. It can also be useful to listen to the cues of your body that can tell when you should switch coffee to herbal tea or simply take it easy. You should remember that it is not your aim to eliminate it but to prevent the moment when these two worlds collide- caffeine and anxiety.
Small changes, Big differences
In case you happen to be realizing that coffee is exacerbating your anxious moments, these are some lifestyle exchanges that can come in handy:
- Experiment with relaxative tea: Chamomile tea, or lavender tea, or lemon balm tea can steam your system without the jars.
- Get your sleep: Burning the candle at both ends, and auguring up on coffee are a one way street to burnout. Good sleep is your natural energy raising course.
- Eat to chill: Well, whatever you put in your belly goes hard with your brain. How to improve gut health? Equip it with probiotics, foods high in fiber and keep off on refined sugar because sometimes happy stomachs make happy minds.
- Be a mindful Breaker: train yourself not to get another cup, but break and then to have five minutes with breathing, gentle exercise or leg stretching.
The Takeaway: Listen to your Body and Mind
Coffee is a ceremony, salvation, and even a little bit of pleasure. Nevertheless, excess of anything good can work against you. When you notice your mind is racing or you get a tight chest after consuming your caffeine, then that is your body dead waving a red flag. The caffeine and anxiety connection is individual; one person can be relaxed by caffeine whilst the other is stimulated, in that sense it is over stimulating.
Hence, next time you take a mug, wait to think about whether this cup is promoting my concentration or arousing my worries. The golden middle can be the way to have your coffee and avoid the impact it can have on your mental health.