“If I don’t have coffee in the morning, I’m not a person”

Have you ever said the phrase “if I don’t have coffee in the morning I’m not a person”? If so, you probably have a problem with caffeine and especially with regular coffee consumption. We explain why you need it so much every day.

Do you regularly drink a cup of coffee? In the mornings? If so, it is possible that at some point you have mentioned a phrase as common as usual in many houses: “If I don’t have coffee in the morning, I’m not a person.” And the truth is that when we tend to make coffee consumption a habit, especially at breakfast or throughout the morning (or also after meals), it is normal that we tend to feel that the cup of coffee is it has become a real necessity in our day-to-day life. We can even find people who drink coffee before going to bed, without causing them insomnia or some kind of problem to sleep well.

Although the so-called addiction to coffee is commonly spoken of, the truth is that it is not appropriate to speak of addiction as such, but rather of dependence on coffee and caffeine. And it is that the habitual and regular consumption of coffee or any other food or drink rich in caffeine tends to cause what is medically known as withdrawal syndrome, which has in fact been proven through rigorous scientific studies.

But for it to produce dependence it is not only necessary a considerable consumption of coffee per day. Although experts consider that a dose greater than 400 mg. a day can create psychological and physical dependence, so that we need more and more caffeine intake in order to achieve the desired effect and stay active, everything will depend on the person, since there have even been cases of coffee addiction with low daily doses (100 mg / day, the equivalent of a cup of coffee).

What symptoms does coffee withdrawal syndrome cause?

The reality is that the phrase that gives its name to this article makes a lot of sense and can also teach us a lot about the dependence that the daily and regular consumption of coffee tends to produce, and the needs of our body to take more and more amounts of caffeine to achieve the same effect. In fact, there are people who need to have the required cup of coffee in the morning to be able to “wake up” and activate. So when they don’t, the following typical symptoms emerge:

• Irritability and bad mood.
• Headache.
• Feeling of numbness and fatigue.
• Difficulty working or concentrating.
• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Impaired cognitive performance.

How many cups of coffee can we safely drink per day?

Like everything, a consumption of coffee taken in its proper measure and without excesses does not imply any type of health risk, but when we exceed the recommended daily amounts it does pose a problem and a risk of dependence.

As we saw in a previous article in which we asked ourselves how many cups of coffee you can drink per day, it is not advisable to consume more than 400 to 550 mg. of caffeine per day. That is, it is not advisable to exceed 4 cups of coffee a day, always bearing in mind that the amounts of caffeine present in a cup of coffee varies depending on the type. Thus, for example, while a cup of espresso coffee has about 200 mg, a cup of instant coffee between 30 to 40 mg. Although many experts agree that it is best not to spend 2 to 3 cups a day, around 200 mg. of caffeine daily.