If you rely on caffeine to wake you up in the morning, for that extra focus in a dull meeting or class, or that extra energy to get through a workout, you are certainly not alone. In fact you are part of the approximately 85% of people worldwide that also use this drug to fuel their daily lives.

Yes, caffeine is a drug

Caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive stimulant used by people around the world, and consumed in a wide variety of forms. It occurs naturally in teas, coffee, and cacao beans, and is also added to many sodas, supplements and energy drinks. You are probably very familiar with its effects:

• Increase in energy
• Increased focus
• Improved ability to solve complex problems
• Improved memory
• Improved mood
• Reducing headaches

Read more about how people interact with caffeine:
Caffeine Trends and Optimal Intake Systematic Review Caffeine Trends and Optimal Intake Systematic Review by Byaliy and Bester, Augsberg University

This is your brain on caffeine

Caffeine directly affects adenosine, a naturally occurring chemical that makes you feel sleepy and relaxed. Adenosine does this by binding to special adenosine receptors in your brain. When you consume caffeine, it blocks the adenosine receptors, and stops it from doing its job and making you sleepy. It appears that the effects of adenosine also then have flow-on effects on the amount of dopamine neurotransmitter that is in the brain (as well as other important neurotransmitters), which may explain some of the addictive effects of caffeine.

Read more about how caffeine acts in your brain:
An update on the mechanisms of the psychostimulant effects of caffeine. Journal of neurochemistry, 105(4), 2008

Caffeine is fairly easy to build a tolerance to. If you consume caffeine regularly, your brain will try and compensate by increasing the number of adenosine receptors. Therefore in order to block the increased adenosine receptors, you then have to drink even more caffeine. This is how you go from needing just the one coffee in the morning to get through a busy work day to needing several to keep revived.

Say you have been drinking a few cups of coffee a day for some time, and then decide to take a break from your regular coffee habit for a few days. Suddenly you can really start to feel the impact of the increased adenosine that your brain has been generating which can then lead to caffeine withdrawal: headaches, irritability and extreme fatigue.

Over the decades, a lot of research has been dedicated to answering the complicated question of whether caffeine is good or bad for you, often with mixed results. This is likely at least partially because doing good research on caffeine is really complicated and involves so many different variables. The human body is so complicated, and some researchers can’t even seem to agree on what constitutes a ‘cup’ of coffee for the sake of scientific inquiry.

However, there does seem to be some evidence for the positive effects of a moderate regular intake of caffeine, including reduced risk of liver cancer (Larrson and Wolk, 2007), reduced chances of cardiac related death (Zulli et al., 2017; Greenberg et al., 2017) and possible protective effects against brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (Kolahdouzan and Hamadeh, 2017).

Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean there aren’t any risks

While caffeine has all sorts of good effects (both short term and potentially long term), and for most people their typical caffeine routine does not cause them any major problems, it is still a stimulant. And like any stimulant, taking too much of it can have some significant consequences on your mental health (irritability, anxiety, extreme fatigue) and your physical health (heart problems, chest pain, nausea, stomach problems).

Energy drinks

Energy drinks have become increasingly popular as a way to boost energy, especially at festivals. Be aware that energy drinks often contain larger quantities of caffeine then a cup of coffee, as well as containing large quantities of sugar and other additives. Because they’re cold and sweet, it’s easy to drink several without considering how much caffeine you’re consuming. Overdoing it can cause heart palpitations, nausea or in more severe situations, seizures

Read more about the effects of energy drinks on your body:
Energy Drinks: A Contemporary Issues Paper, Higgins et al, Current Sports Medicine Reports, 2018

Would you like a side of stimulant with your stimulant?

Combining stimulants, as a general rule, is always more risky than consuming one stimulant alone. Consuming caffeine alongside other drugs like MDMA, cocaine or amphetamines can make them much more toxic, increasing the chances of seizures, heart problems and other serious health issues.

Furthermore, harmful effects happen with much smaller amounts of caffeine when combined with MDMA compared to cocaine or amphetamines. One possible reason for this is that MDMA affects more of the brain’s chemical systems, increasing both serotonin and dopamine in the brain, and caffeine makes those effects even stronger. This is important to be mindful of even if you aren’t consuming lots of caffeine, as caffeine can also be commonly found in MDMA pills or powders.

Read more about how caffeine interacts with other stimulant-type drugs:
Caffeine provokes adverse interactions with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) and related psychostimulants: mechanisms and mediators by Vanattou-Saïfoudine, McNamara, and Harkin, British Journal of Pharmacology, 2012

Things that might make caffeine less fun than you were anticipating

If you have anxiety, or suffer from certain physical health conditions, caffeine might be more likely to have a negative impact on your body, especially when combined with other stimulants. Here are some of the conditions that could reduce your body’s ability to tolerate larger doses of caffeine.

• Heart conditions
• Seizure disorders
• Liver problems
• Kidney problems
• Various stomach conditions

If you’re someone who knows that they are more sensitive to caffeine, make sure you don’t overdo it in the pursuit of a fun time while out partying.

It’s not what we’re drinking, it’s how we’re drinking…

According to some research available out there, drinking up to 400 mg/day of caffeine if you are an adult appears to be low risk. This means the average adult without any underlying health conditions could drink up to 2-3 energy drinks in a day without significant consequences (note this is based on NZ energy drinks, which have restrictions on the quantity of caffeine content).
Read more about the safety of ingested caffeine:
The Safety of Ingested Caffeine: A Comprehensive Review by Temple et al, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2007

So while a couple of cups of coffee on the daily has not been shown to be harmful, and can perhaps even have some benefits on our brain, heart and overall well being, it is important to not overdo it. At a festival, resist the temptation to down several energy drinks, and remember to keep hydrating with actual water as much as you can throughout the day.

If you think that you have overdone it and are not feeling too great, these steps have been shown to help slow the release of caffeine, or manage the side effects of too much caffeine:

• Drink some water
• Eat some food (ideally food rich in fiber)
• Go for a light walk
• Try some deep breathing exercises, like box breathing

Consider reducing your caffeine intake later in the day. Take note of how much caffeine you’re consuming to avoid accidental overuse, especially if you’re consuming other stimulants. And don’t forget, nothing is as good at keeping you feeling awake and well rested as actual rest.