Coffee Addiction - Fact or Fiction?

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February 16th, 2008

Let’s get straight to the point. Coffee can appear to be addictive because of the withdrawal symptoms it produces. As soon as the caffeine hits your brain it tells your adrenal glands to produce adrenalin, this is where the kick comes from. Adrenalin gets you ready for action, the problem is that if you are sat at your desk, or perhaps on the couch, you don’t need to be ready for action. About 30 minutes later the caffeine wears off, the adrenalin has worn off, and you come down from this action state, leaving you feeling tired and unable to relax.So what do you do now?

Most people decide to reach for another cup of coffee to end this sluggishness and the cycle is repeated all through the day, with you going from high to low, an emotional roller coaster of a day. If this sounds familiar you are not alone, thousands of people experience this each and every day.

These symptoms follow the classic tell tale signs of drug addiction, but with caffeine there is a difference. Drugs such as cocaine and nicotine are addictive because they affect the “reward and motivation” part of the brain. Caffeine does not seem to work on these parts of the brain, and as such is not seen as being addictive.If you find yourself reaching for cup after cup of coffee, you are just relieving the symptoms it produces, but you will not be physically craving caffeine.

This is an important distinction, because those of us who just can’t seem to get through the day without our little crutch, can find it much easier to end their apparent coffee addiction. Now i am not saying that stopping drinking coffee is a simple process, it can be very difficult to just stop doing something you have perhaps been doing for years. These symptoms are very real and can cause a lot of discomfort. It has been scientifically proven that caffeine withdrawal produces headaches and irritability for a period of up to 10 days.

The fact is that drinking coffee can lead to symptoms that appear to be similar to drug addiction,the fiction is that caffeine is not physically addictive.

Learn how to tame your coffee addiction. Great tips and hints to help you take the stress out of your life.

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5 Responses to “Coffee Addiction - Fact or Fiction?”

  1. Andy Says:
    February 18th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    Fact! I’ve actually tried to cut out as much caffeine in general from my drinking within the last year or two. I stopped and looked at just how much we drink soda and coffee (even tea with caf), myself included, and thought that maybe this isn’t the best thing. When you go a week or two without caffeine, you start feeling different—in a good way. I think because it’s a real feeling and not an altered feeling from caffeine. When I first did this, I went back and drank a soft drink with caffeine in it. I had an awful headache. Now I drink water, de-caf tea, or un-caf soda–typically a root beer). :)

  2. Kezins Says:
    February 18th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

    Very interesting article. I am one of the few people who has always avoided caffeine and probably for good reasons.

  3. Forest Parks Says:
    February 21st, 2008 at 4:01 pm

    Wow that is very interesting. I only drink a few cups of coffee per week and if I get the coffee low then the last thing I want to do is grab another cup…. my partner on the other hand is a coffee fiend! I should point her to this article.

  4. Josef Nankivell Says:
    February 21st, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    I find the topic of addiction very interesting. I am not addicted to anything, however, if I was I always feel I would be able to quit easier than most people. For example, if I smoked and wanted to quit, I would just throw all of my cigarettes away, and just not let myself buy any more. However, I have never been addicted to anything so I do not have first hand experience on how easy or hard giving up an addiction can be.

    Thank you for the comment on my site! Keep up the good work here also.

    Thanks.

  5. carla Says:
    February 22nd, 2008 at 7:15 am

    Im a living testament to the notion that it SURELY is addictive :)
    as are many of us.

    broke the am coffee habit—still reach for the Mommy Merlot (diet coke) every now and again.

    baby steps huh?

    MizFit

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