The Netherlands is in the top five largest coffee drinkers in the world. Not surprisingly. Drinking coffee has something cozy/social to many people, it makes you alert, energetic, happy and focused. Even people who don't drink coffee like to say "shall we have a cup?" But, coffee also has a downside. Caffeine affects many different bodily functions and stimulates your stress hormones. In this article, we explain why drinking less coffee is a good idea, how it could be that you don't function without it and most importantly, what to do?
During a Recharge Week you stop drinking coffee. Why really?
Recharging means returning to your body's own balance & energy. Coffee is an external stimulant and affects your energy in several ways:
1. It stimulates the production of cortisol & adrenaline (stress hormones).
Every time you drink coffee, it physically increases stress. This is because coffee increases cortisol & adrenaline (stress hormones). As a result, too much coffee can be stress-inducing. This is noticeable as feeling restless, anxious or sleepless. So it may also be that in times of high stress you can have less coffee than in relaxed times: your stress bucket gets fuller.
2 cups of coffee (200mg) increases your cortisol level by 30% within 60 minutes!
2. Caffeine stimulates the production of dopamine
Because more adrenaline is produced, your dopamine also gets a boost. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that creates the "LET'S GO!" feeling. This is also why you can feel so good after drinking coffee. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, dopamine is also addictive, which is why you quickly become more dependent on coffee.
3. Coffee reduces the action of adenosine
Adenosine is a tranquilizer. Caffeine occupies the spots on your cells, so to speak, for adenosine to dock, reducing adenosine's ability to work. This effect occurs only when you are already tired, because adenosine shows up the moment your brain cells are tired from hard work. Adenosine then says, "take it easy, communicate less!" Caffeine thus reduces the action of this calming chemical, which means you are actually forcing yourself to go beyond your limits.
Caffeine reduces the action of the calming chemical adenosine, so you actually force yourself to go beyond your limits.
4. Drinking coffee too much or too late can lead to insomnia, anxiety, restlessness and high blood pressure
There is a story going around about the origin of coffee. Namely, that a goatherd Kaldi in Ethiopia discovered coffee because his goats had eaten red berries from a certain plant. The goats became so active and full of energy that they also stopped sleeping. If you don't sleep long or deep enough (link through to article on quality sleep) then it's worth trying to give coffee a little more often, especially in the afternoon and evening. Some people do not break down caffeine as well in the liver: this is genetic. In this case, coffee affects your sleep tremendously.
Coffee is easily addictive. If you're not careful, you may find yourself:
- wanting more and more coffee
- cannot wake up without
- becomes highly dependent
- experiencing sleep problems
- you feel restless
- get a headache without coffee
Why can some people have a lot of coffee?
Good to know: some people can break down coffee better than others. This has to do with the amount of specific enzymes from the liver. Your genes determine to what extent this enzyme is regulated and whether your liver can break down caffeine well or not. Therefore, for some, just 1 cup of coffee is too much and for others much more. Anyway, the effect of caffeine depends on several factors, for example: your mental and physical condition, your age, lifestyle (for example, is your body also very busy breaking down medications, alcohol or toxins from cosmetics?).
What if you have stopped/mined coffee and cannot function?
Because caffeine occupies the sedative adenosine receptors, your body starts creating more and more receptors (keyholes to your cell) in response. As a result, you need more and more coffee to experience the same alertness. Once you start drinking less coffee or stop drinking it, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, bad mood and gloomy feelings. This is because there are then unoccupied adenosine receptors (attachment points).
What to do if you have withdrawal symptoms?
No worries! If you stop drinking coffee for a longer time, the excess adenosine receptors disappear and your body restores itself to its natural balance. Thus, you no longer "need" this boost to feel good, but can simply enjoy a cup of coffee once in a while.
Tips for during the rehab period
- Go for a walk more often, stretch and drink lots of water
- Try 'the best workout there is
- If you drink a lot of coffee (4-8 cups per day) try to slowly phase out by drinking 1 cup of coffee for the first 3 days
- Pay extra attention to your overall lifestyle: prioritize sleep (link sleep quality article), eat healthy and exercise enough
- Craving a cup of coffee? Do 1 minute squats/jumping jacks. The improved blood flow will make you feel more energy flowing again!
