Should You Quit Caffeine?
Caffeine is a potent drug; people however don’t see it as such because it is legal and so widely used. In fact, it’s the most used stimulant worldwide. You’ll find caffeine in tea and coffee, green tea, energy drinks and pre workout supplements plus chocolate and chocolate products. It stimulates the central nervous system and can have some positive effects on the human body. Caffeine in low doses is thought to be associated with an improvement in sporting performance, increased alertness and reduction in fatigue potentially lifting a person’s mood. Coffee and tea also contain some antioxidants which have positive effects on heart health. That’s why that first cup in the morning feels so good!
But it can also have a negative effect on the mind and body. Increased amounts of caffeine lead to dependency due to increased tolerance and hence the need for greater amounts to gain the same stimulatory benefits. Its so tempting to have more and more I know it is for me anyway. Heavy users who must go without can experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. Too much caffeine can produce restlessness, nausea, sleep difficulties, upset stomach, increased urine production causing dehydration, and heart palpitations. It can also cause high blood pressure in sensitive people. Yep I’d say I’ve experienced the bad side to caffeine too; lay awake staring at the ceiling with my heart racing, not pleasant!
When a client asks me ‘should I quit caffeine?’ I answer with some questions to find out what effect caffeine is having on their life. I recommend my clients to use caffeine to their advantage as a pre workout to get that extra oomph in the gym, especially when training early morning on an empty stomach. Or to help with work tasks that require concentration. If you feel it brings the best out of you taking your mental and physical performance from a 9/10 to a 10/10 then you have the dose right and are in control so no need to quit.
If you feel you need caffeine just to function, then the relationship with it probably isn’t good. If you are having poor quality sleep, palpitations and feelings of anxiety, I’d recommend cutting back to a dose where symptoms improve. Poor sleep equals poor recovery from training sessions, increased appetite for sugary foods, low mood and energy. These all have a negative impact on training, body composition goals and overall wellbeing. If this is you, you may need to quit or reduce your intake to find a dose that suits and always have a cut off point, for me that’s 1-2 cups of coffee per day never past 11am. Always try to have 1-2 caffeine free days per week, probably rest days from training, this keeps you sensitive to the potent effects and prevents dependency.
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