Caffeine addictions can cause unforeseen side effects

February 8, 2010 —

by James Fry

Overindulging on your caffeine fix can lead to a nastier fall than you might expect.

A day as a college student might sound something like this: wake up in the morning with a cup of coffee or two before class. Sometime in the afternoon, a grande cappuccino makes the perfect pick-me-up.

Then, for that late-night studying, a canned energy drink will be on hand.

The next morning, a cup of coffee can cure the headache. And the cycle begins again.

Many people take advantage of caffeine to boost alertness. But how much is too much?

Michele Bernreuter, a resident dietitian at SVSU, said that although caffeine has short-term benefits, it poses major risks with the stress it can put on the body’s most essential organ: the heart.

“One of the scariest side effects caffeine can have on the body is that it causes your heart to beat faster. It can even cause your heart to beat irregularly,” she said. “For students in their teens and twenties, this is one thing they should definitely keep an eye on.”

Bernreuter adds that consuming too much caffeine can also cause insomnia, nervousness, irritability, headaches and anxiety.

The substance can lead to other complications. For an example, she cites one teenage boy.

The boy was asked to fast before and after a surgical operation. Following the procedure, he started showing symptoms of what appeared to be a reaction to the epidural he had been given.

“He had a migraine and was becoming unusually nauseated,” she said. “We thought his body was reacting negatively from some of the drugs he was given during surgery.”

Doctors investigated the exact cause of the symptoms and discovered that his body was going through caffeine withdrawal. The boy admitted that he normally had one can of soda a day. Even with this small amount, his body had built up an addiction. His symptoms were cured in less than 15 minutes, after he had an Excedrin, whose main ingredient is caffeine.

Caffeine addiction’s withdrawal symptoms can range from a headache to nausea.

But Bernreuter said that small amounts of it can help a person.

“[In] the equivalent of two to four regular servings of coffee, it can greatly increase a person’s awareness,” she said. “It can even benefit athletes.”

In fact, various athletic organizations even have certain restrictions on caffeine levels.

The International Olympic Committee has a caffeine ban for anything more than 12 micrograms per milliliter in an athlete’s urine drug test. This is equivalent to the amount in about four cups of coffee.

For college athletes, the National Collegiate Athletic Association restricts any athletes whose caffeine levels are more than 15 micrograms per milliliter.

With the chemical’s many side effects and risks, students have healthy alternatives to help curb the amount they have daily.

“Two of the simplest ways are getting adequate rest and having a nutritious diet,” Bernreuter said. “Both of these things can be just as effective and beneficial as caffeine.”

But her key advice for college students is to not procrastinate.

“You shouldn’t have to put yourself a position that will cause you stay up all night and rely on unhealthy levels of caffeine to get you through.”