6 Methods to Counteract the Facet Results of Caffeine

Consuming too many caffeinated drinks could cause you to really feel jittery, anxious, and like your coronary heart is pounding. Extra caffeine can mirror signs of an anxiousness assault, upset your abdomen, and improve your coronary heart price and blood stress.

There are a couple of steps you’ll be able to take to counteract caffeine and offset its unintended effects, serving to you are feeling higher because the caffeine wears off.

If you happen to’ve had too many cups of espresso, it’s a must to look ahead to the caffeine to depart your system. There isn’t a easy, quick solution to counteract caffeine. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to take steps to assist ease caffeine’s unintended effects.

This is what to do you probably have an excessive amount of caffeine: 

Apply deep respiratory: Deep respiratory workouts assist activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which tells your physique to relaxation and digest. This may also help your physique chill out, reducing anxiousness and a racing coronary heart price.
Hydrate: Caffeine is a diuretic, which implies it will increase urination and may result in dehydration. Consuming extra water helps you rehydrate and reduces signs like fast heartbeat and dizziness.  
Eat a snack: Meals may also help decelerate the absorption of caffeine in your bloodstream. Selecting a snack that incorporates protein, fats, and fiber may assist decrease blood sugar ranges, which may also help calm jitters.
Select magnesium- or potassium-rich meals: These minerals might assist calm your nervous system and muscle tissue. Potassium additionally helps regulate your heartbeat. Attain for meals like spinach, avocados, brown rice, or bananas to get a lift of each magnesium and potassium. 
Carry out mild train: A brief stroll or light stretching might improve blood circulation sufficient to assist your physique course of caffeine extra effectively. Motion additionally helps cut back emotions of tension. 
Keep away from different stimulants: Extra stimulants will make signs worse. Keep away from caffeinated merchandise like teas, delicate drinks, or chocolate, in addition to different stimulants like nicotine and sure prescription drugs.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, which implies it stimulates chemical compounds in your mind that improve vitality and focus. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour for caffeine to soak up into the bloodstream via the abdomen and small gut.

After about quarter-hour to 2 hours, caffeine ranges peak, and you’re feeling that increase of vitality. On the identical time, your liver begins to interrupt down caffeine. Consuming an excessive amount of caffeine could make you are feeling overstimulated. This could trigger unintended effects like anxiousness, restlessness, irregular coronary heart price, irritability, and muscle twitches. You may additionally have an upset abdomen and really feel dehydrated.

How lengthy it takes caffeine to put on off will depend on its half-life, which is the time it takes your physique to take away half of a substance. For the typical particular person, caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours. So, it takes about 5 hours for half of the caffeine you eat to depart your bloodstream. That is additionally when most individuals discover caffeine signs go away.

Nevertheless, caffeine’s results can final anyplace from 2.5 to fifteen hours. Elements that affect how your physique processes caffeine embody:

Age: The physique’s capability to course of caffeine slows down with age, and older adults will course of caffeine extra slowly. Being pregnant: Caffeine processing slows throughout being pregnant, and may improve its half-life to fifteen hours. Speak to your physician about how a lot caffeine is protected for you throughout being pregnant.Weight: Folks with bigger physique sizes are likely to metabolize caffeine quicker.Liver operate: Having a liver situation or harm makes it tougher for the liver to course of caffeine.Hormonal contraception: Research have proven that folks taking hormonal contraception drugs can take longer to metabolize caffeine. Smoking: Individuals who smoke course of caffeine as much as 50% quicker than non-smokers. 

Sure meals, drugs, and habits could make the results of caffeine worse. If you happen to’ve consumed an excessive amount of caffeine, take into accout:

Do not panic: Stress could make signs like elevated coronary heart price, anxiousness, and blood stress worse.
Do not make your self throw up: You might suppose vomiting will assist get the caffeine out of your physique, however it’s extra prone to dehydrate you additional.
Keep away from meals excessive in sugar: Whereas consuming may also help cut back caffeine’s unintended effects, skip meals excessive in sugar. Sugary meals and drinks improve blood sugar ranges, making you are feeling extra jittery.
Keep away from high-intensity exercises: Mild train may also help counteract the results of caffeine. Nevertheless, strenuous exercises can elevate your coronary heart price and anxiousness even additional.
Do not take depressants: Depressants are substances that lower mind stimulation to assist calm you down. Depressants like alcohol and a few prescription and illicit medication could cause harmful results when blended with stimulants like caffeine.  

An excessive amount of caffeine could cause caffeine toxicity, or caffeine overdose. Lethal caffeine overdoses are uncommon, however caffeine intoxication can result in extreme problems like seizures, muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis), kidney harm, and cardiac arrest. 

Search emergency medical care or name poison management instantly in case you or somebody with you has the next indicators or signs of a caffeine overdose: 

Hassle respiratory
Muscle twitching
Fast or irregular heartbeat
Hallucinations or confusion
Lack of alertness
Seizures
Nausea and vomiting
Fever

Consuming an excessive amount of caffeine could make you are feeling anxious and jittery. You’ll be able to assist your physique settle down and really feel higher by hydrating, consuming a light-weight meal, making an attempt light motion, and training deep respiratory.

It takes most individuals about 5 hours for the results of an excessive amount of caffeine to put on off. Calming your nervous system and stabilizing your blood sugar may also help cut back caffeine-related anxiousness and jitters.