When Too Much Coffee Can Negatively Affect Your Health?

It goes without saying that coffee is a popular beverage. It is at the heart of a multi-billion dollar industry and at the lips of hundreds of millions of people every morning – and for many in the afternoon, evening and various times in between.

Status and Statistics

Although it is technically not the most-consumed beverage in the world – an honor reserved for water and tea, respectively – it is most certainly on the radar. Some 90% of American adults drink some form of coffee daily, and the average amount of consumption stands at 3.1 cups a day.

Despite this obvious love for the brew, the United States still only ranks 8th in the world among coffee consumers, though managing to generate $18 billion in annual sales. The Europeans, at least on a per capita basis, would seem to have an even deeper affection for the roasted bean.

Not to be outdone, however, coffee consumption has arrived at a place of status in the American cultural pantheon such that drinking more, better and stronger coffee has become a sign of a go-getter attitude; a gesture of courage and strength in the trenches of the American working world.

Addictive Arabica

The real question becomes, then, whether all of this coffee consumption is healthy, or if it can even be harmful.

When it comes to general consumption, the old adage is wrong: a person can have too much of a good thing. Coffee overdoses are rare, but they are possible and have been known to occur. This takes a considerable amount of concentrated brew, and is only likely to happen when consumed over a short period of time.

That it does occur, however, stands as a good reminder that caffeine is addictive and can be abused. For most coffee drinkers, though, the more pertinent concern is if drinking too much coffee can be harmful over the long-term, and if there is a daily limit on how much one should drink.

Counting Coffees

Scientists agree that “moderate” coffee consumption, defined as two to four brewed cups of a coffee a day, is not harmful in the long-term and likely will not produce any unwanted short-term side effects for a person who is not overly sensitive to the effects of caffeine.

Coffee: How It Affects Your Mood Caffeine has many effects on your body and taken in large doses, it can be harmful. It affects four hormones in your body that can affect your mood.

Caffeine can disrupt absorption of adenosine, which helps calm the body. This can make you feel alert for a while, but can cause sleep problems in the long run.

Caffeine gives you more adrenaline in your system, giving you a temporary boost, then causing a crash later, making you feel fatigued and depressed. If you ease this feeling by drinking more coffee, it could cause agitation and then edginess.