Top 10 Caffeine Overdose Symptoms
Here are the usual caffeine overdose symptoms in order from the first ones to be experienced to the more severe, later stage symptoms coming from even larger doses of caffeine.
- Jitters, Restlessness, and Nervousness
- Increased heartbeat
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Heart palpitations (cardiac arrhythmia)
- insomnia
- Sweating
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Cardiac arrest
There are many common symptoms that indicate too much caffeine, but these are the most prevalent.
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The beginning symptoms should be recognized and further caffeine intake should be stopped to avoid the most serious and even life-threatening symptoms found at the end of the list.
Ingesting massive doses of caffeine at once is particularly dangerous as it does not give your body time to react since early overdose symptoms serve as a warning system.
Caffeine's major effects are experienced for at least 4 hours .
- This is longer for those sensitive to caffeine.
- This is with extremely large doses.
- This is based on the half-life of caffeine which is 4-6 hours.
However, it can be hard to pinpoint an amount of caffeine that will cause caffeine overdose symptoms since people have different tolerance levels to caffeine.
Are You Addicted to Caffeine?
Prevention: Maximum Daily Intake
You can prevent caffeine overdose by adhering to the recommended safe dosage guidelines.
Generally, a single dose between 250-500 mg ( check caffeine amounts here ) could produce some of the above mild to moderate symptoms, especially in those with no tolerance or high caffeine sensitivity .
Those with caffeine allergy or sensitivity could have severe symptoms even after a much smaller dose.
DSM-5 Criteria
Caffeine Intoxication is now included in the DSM-5 physicians manual . (This is the official manual of doctors and psychiatrists used to diagnose a person's condition.)
The official diagnosis can be made when any of the following symptoms are present: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis (you keep passing urine), gastrointestinal disturbance (upset tummy, diarrhea), muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia, periods of inexhaustibility, or psychomotor agitation.
The DSM-5 now also lists Caffeine Withdrawal as a mental disorder. Sufferers can experience withdrawal symptoms when ceasing caffeine intake.
Caffeine Overdose Facts
Luckily for us, we have mechanisms built into the human body that let us know we've had enough of something.
This is true with caffeine overdose. Well before we are at a toxic level we experience side effects that prevent us from consuming more , ie nausea and vomiting.
This means that before the 149 or so cans of Red Bull that would take to kill an average adult male, vomiting would most certainly happen.
For most people, that would happen after about number 5!
However, it's important to note that caffeine is a drug and should be respected and not abused . Since some people have extremely low tolerance or high sensitivity to caffeine, they could - in theory - overdose quite easily.
How to Know If You've Overdosed?
Most people feel the "jitters" first - a sensation of tremors or shaking.
This is your signal to stop consuming caffeine for the day.
You should also be aware of the caffeine levels in what you are drinking. Please consult the caffeine database since some of the caffeine amounts might surprise you.
If you find that you are often tired after consuming caffeine, this is a sign that you need to change your long-term caffeine habits and consider a detox.
How common is caffeine overdose?
With the plethora of caffeinated products in the marketplace, one could assume that overdosing on caffeine is quite common.
However, if we look at the statistics gathered from the American Association of Poison Control Centers we find that, while caffeine overdose does exist, it is not as common as people may think.
In fact, overdosing on Tylenol is a lot more common than overdosing on caffeine.