Why Doesn’t Caffeine Affect Me Anymore? Am I Addicted?
Caffeine is a stimulant that most people use to wake up or stay awake. It is also the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, with around 90% of adults consuming it on a daily basis. However, why doesn’t caffeine affect me anymore? This article will discuss why this might be happening and how it can lead to burnout, addiction, and more.
Table of Contents
How does caffeine work?
Caffeine works by blocking adenosine, which is why it can help fight off sleepiness. It does this by binding to the same receptors that are activated when your body binds its own endocannabinoids.
How does caffeine affect anxiety?
If you’re looking for a quick fix of energy or keeping yourself awake during an important event, then caffeine will be able to do the trick. However, if you suffer from any kind of mental health issues such as depression or panic attacks, drinking coffee could make things worse thanks to withdrawal symptoms and rebound effects.
It inhibits phosphodiesterases (PDEs) and it interferes with GABA receptors which help you feel calm and relaxed. (Ribeiro et. al., 2010)
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If you have feelings of irritability, heart racing, jittery, sweating, insomnia, and an inability sleeping then you probably experience anxiety.
It can increase your cortisol production and it can interfere with the function of your HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). This is the part of your body that creates your fight or flight responses and produces cortisol and stress hormones glucocorticoids.
Research shows that the function of this system is based on genetics, early life environment, and current life stress. Cortisol can interfere with the brain’s reward center and can lead to addictions such as alcohol dependency. (Stephens & Wand, 2012)
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Can you be immune to caffeine?
Yes and too much caffeine can lead to burnout as well.
Caffeine is a stimulant that most people use to wake up or stay awake. It is also the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, with around 90% of adults consuming it on a daily basis.
Many believe that they are no longer affected by caffeine because they have built up immunity to its effects however there may be other causes at play here as well (see below).
One possible cause for why you don’t feel caffeinated after drinking coffee could simply be due to tolerance – so what does tolerance mean in terms of caffeine and why does it occur?
Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms
- Nausea
- Migraine
- Excess Fatigue
- Irritability
- Moodiness
What causes low energy?
Actually many things can contribute to low energy, one thing I always like to tell people is to eat something protein, fat, and fiber-rich to give them energy. You are not deficient in caffeine therefore your body is not made to actually need it. However, other ways that your energy can be depleted are:
- Stress
- Sickness
- Inflammation
- Low Iron
- Low Vitamin D
- Low B- vitamins
- Autoimmune Disorder
- Dehydration
- Minimal Sunshine
- Low Nutrient Diet- highly processed foods
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Poor Gut Health
Caffeine Tolerance
The stimulating effects of caffeine are why many people drink it on a daily basis.
When someone drinks coffee on a regular basis, their body becomes used to the effects of caffeine.
This means that they build up what’s called ‘tolerance’ towards its stimulating effects which results in needing more than usual to feel stimulated.
Our body gets used to receiving an increased amount of dopamine and so we require more caffeine in order for us to feel stimulated, hence why one cup might not be enough anymore!
We know that once our brain gets accustomed to receiving an increased amount of dopamine and dopamine encourages us to get more of what gave us it in the first place.
Since caffeine gives us the energy we desire short-term it causes us to come back to that dopamine source.
This can also be the case with foods and craving a carb-rich and sugary diet because of a lack of energy and it becomes addictive.
Although some may say that they don’t believe that their morning coffee is addictive because they aren’t physically dependent (or do not experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop consuming caffeine), this isn’t always the case as our brain changes with prolonged exposure.
Something interesting you should know about addiction: The stimulant effects of caffeine can actually make someone more likely to become addicted – this means if your initial reason for drinking coffee was due to stress at work or studying but now you find yourself needing it every day, you are more likely to become addicted.
Why does caffeine affect me less?
When someone drinks coffee on a regular basis, their body becomes used to the effects of caffeine which means that they build up what’s called ‘tolerance’ towards its stimulating effects which results in needing more than usual to feel stimulated.
Hence why do so many people drink multiple cups throughout the day – why doesn’t caffeine affect me anymore after drinking one cup? Many believe that if you aren’t feeling any effect from your morning dose of Joe, this could be due to addiction.
It may be time to try to change something else, sleep hygiene, diet, and learn some relaxation techniques.
Addiction within the context of caffeine can mean two things; psychological or physical dependence. We know that once our brain gets accustomed to receiving an increased amount of dopamine.
Our Cortisol(stress) response is elevated from caffeine consumption. A recent study showed that people who consumed caffeine on a daily basis had less of a stress response due to their bodies being used to the caffeine and stress response. (Lovallo et. al., 2005)
Why is caffeine addictive?
Caffeine is a psychoactive drug and so can be considered an addiction however it does not have the same properties as other drugs such as nicotine or heroin which means that caffeine is unlikely to result in physical withdrawal symptoms when someone stops consuming it.
In this sense, why doesn’t caffeine affect me anymore? One reason why your morning dose of Joe might not be enough could simply be due to tolerance – meaning that you are accustomed to receiving a certain amount of dopamine from coffee on a daily basis.
Although some may say they don’t believe their morning coffee was addictive because they aren’t physically dependent (or do not experience any withdrawal symptoms), our brain changes with prolonged exposure.
Things interesting about addiction: The stimulant effects of caffeine actually make someone more likely to become addicted – this means if your initial reason for drinking coffee was due to stress at work or studying but now you find yourself needing it every day, you are more likely to be considered ‘addicted’.
Caffeine addiction is considered a mental health disorder in the DSM V (the diagnostic book used by mental health professionals).
Why Does Caffeine Make Me Tired?
. In this article, we’ll be discussing why it’s possible to become addicted and why after drinking one cup you might need more. We’ll look at the stimulating effects of caffeine, how long does it take for caffeine to kick in, and why do I feel tired when I drink coffee? Let’s begin with looking into what happens within our body once we have consumed some. There are two main reasons why someone may experience different effects from taking just one cup – either due to tolerance or addiction.
Also, most caffeine sources have a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners which can cause a spike and a drop in blood sugar which makes you tired. So pro tip, limit the sugar you consume with your caffeine because both sugar and caffeine cause your body to produce cortisol.
Lower Caffeine Options
Black Tea- improves gut health (if organic and low in sugar)
Green Tea- L-theanine in green tea helps balance out the effects of caffeine by not overstimulating.
Real Dark Chocolate- low amounts and has high antioxidative properties which help counteract stress in the body by minimizing free radical damage from stress and toxins.
References:
Lovallo, W. R., Whitsett, T. L., al’Absi, M., Sung, B. H., Vincent, A. S., & Wilson, M. F. (2005). Caffeine stimulation of cortisol secretion across the waking hours in relation to caffeine intake levels. Psychosomatic medicine, 67(5), 734–739. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000181270.20036.06
Ribeiro JA, Sebastião AM. Caffeine and adenosine. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20 Suppl 1:S3-15. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-1379. PMID: 20164566.
Stephens, M. A., & Wand, G. (2012). Stress and the HPA axis: role of glucocorticoids in alcohol dependence. Alcohol research : current reviews, 34(4), 468–483.
Originally posted 2021-11-23 20:54:48.
Megan Santiago
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