19 Horrible Things That Can Happen If You Drink Too Much Coffee

If you’re like me, you enjoy your coffee hit. I have my first one in the morning (thanks to our Nespresso machine) then a few during the day.

Business Insider  writes that Australians spent almost $800 million on over two billion cups of coffee last year –  but like all drugs, overuse of caffeine has risks.

They list 20 dangers of partial and total caffeine overdose

1. Increased heartbeat 

Caffeine acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system, increasing your heart rate.

This can be expected as soon as 15 minutes after ingesting

2. Heartburn/ Reflux 

3. Jitters/ Restlessness

4. Anxiety

The stimulant effect on the body form caffeine such as increased heart rate, increased adrenaline hormones and heightened senses, can cause an overwhelming sensation in some people causing them feel anxious.

5. Muscle Twitches and Spasms 

6. Rambling Thought and Speech

Along with many of your other senses, speech and thought speed up in response to the stimulant in caffeine.

While this can be very useful for concentration, too much can cause confusion and stuttering.

7. Heart palpitations

8. Diuresis

Caffeine increases the need to urinate because it increases blood flow through the kidneys and dilates the blood vessels hence making the kidneys produce more waste.

9. Gastrointestinal disturbance

Caffeine acts like a laxative, by increasing contraction in the small and large intestinal muscles.

10. Dehydration 

11. Insomnia

Caffeine inhibits the activity of a neurotransmitter called Adenosine. Adenosine is one of your brain’s natural tranquilisers.

12. Headaches

The combination of diuretic and stimulant pulsing through the body causes the receptors in the brain to become overloaded and leads to a headache.

13. Hallucinations

Hallucinations are believed to occur when an overdose of caffeine causes the body to become stressed.

This is a result of high adrenaline levels and stimulant.

14. Addiction

Caffeine addiction or dependence begins because it originally creates the alert feeling that caffeine drinkers crave, and later becomes a chemical that the body needs to prevent going through withdrawals such as headaches, lethargy and depression.

15. Increase Blood Pressure

16. Stomach Ulcers

17. Cardiac arrest

An increased blood pressure from high caffeine intake and the effects of the stimulant on the cardio-vascular system can have a devastating outcome for people with weak hearts.

18. Coma

When a person consumes too much caffeine, they go into what is known as caffeine intoxication where they become confused and disoriented.

This is when a caffeine coma can occur, as well as seizures.

19. Death

People with caffeine sensitivities can died from caffeine overdose. While achieving a lethal dose of caffeine would be difficult with regular coffee, high doses with caffeine pills are a known cause of many caffeine overdoses.

Read more at Business Insider.