Is Caffeine Making Me Have Anxiety?

Caffeine can increase alertness, concentration, and memory but it can cause anxiety and panic attacks.

Is caffeine making you have anxiety? The short answer: you can find out by noting the physical effects of drinking caffeine. If you are feeling anxious, then have some more coffee and see if it makes you more anxious. Caffeine can start working as little as in 10 minutes but typically its full effects don’t come until 30 to 60 minutes.

“Caffeine is the most widely used mood-altering drug in the world.” Roland Griffiths, PhD

You may not have any anxiety disorder, your body just may have an adverse reaction to caffeine. Your tolerance to caffeine is much different from other people. If you are already a high strung, stressed type of person, it may be that caffeine is contributing to your anxiety.

Caffeine creates anxiety and induces panic attacks.

The American Psychiatric Association has added three disorders related to caffeine and anxiety: caffeine intoxication, caffeine-related anxiety, and caffeine-related sleep disorders.

80% of Americans drink caffeine on a daily basis.

Sleep experts say not to have any caffeine 8 hours before going to bed because it may disrupt your sleep cycle. Not getting enough sleep can add to your anxiety.

A few ways caffeine is linked to anxiety:

1. Caffeine increases stress: caffeine acts a lot like stress, making your heart pump faster, increasing blood pressure and stress hormones.
2. Caffeine is can cause insomnia: people wonder why they can’t sleep at night and it is because they are drinking caffeine well up to or even past dinner time. Not having sleep can make you anxious. Put the caffeine down.
3. Don’t mix caffeine with certain medications: caffeine can have adverse reactions when taken with medications. May sure and check drug interactions here. WebMD
4. Caffeine can be linked to psychiatric disorders: you make think you have anxiety, but some psychologists take people off caffeine before prescribing any sort of medication. It is often that people think they have something wrong with them but anxiety is just caused by the caffeine. Remember, we all react differently to it.
5. It is easy to take too much caffeine: we really only need 1/64 teaspoon to give you a nice boost of energy. A 5-hour energy will give you a whopping 100mg of caffeine which is way too much to be taken at once.

If you think you have an anxiety disorder, quit the caffeine first and see if you are less anxious. If you are struggling with any type of anxiety that is affecting your daily life then seek professional help.

Take the anxiety quiz. Click here.