Caffeine why is it addictive

The good news is that, compared to many drug addictions, the effects are relatively short-term. To kick the thing, you only need to get through about days of symptoms without drinking any caffeine.

During that period, your brain will naturally decrease the number of adenosine receptors on each cell, responding to the sudden lack of caffeine ingestion. If you can make it that long without a cup of joe or a spot of tea, the levels of adenosine receptors in your brain reset to their baseline levels, and your addiction will be broken.

Joseph Stromberg was previously a digital reporter for Smithsonian. Photo by Flickr user jamesjoel Within 24 hours of quitting the drug, your withdrawal symptoms begin. Post a Comment. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Caffeine use disorder. Updated May 2, Coffee consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation in the Physicians' Health Study.

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Development of the caffeine withdrawal symptom questionnaire: Caffeine withdrawal symptoms cluster into 7 factors. Drug and Alc Depend. Pohler H. Caffeine intoxication and addiction. J Nurse Pract. National Institute of Mental Health. Depression basics. Revised Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.

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I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Caffeine and Caffeine Addiction. Caffeine Adverse Effects. Symptoms of Caffeine Addiction. Symptoms of Caffeine Withdrawal. Other Similar Disorders. Assess Your Intake. Next Steps. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Once consumed, caffeine takes about 30—60 minutes to reach its maximal concentration in the blood. Effects tend to last between three and nine hours, depending on the person 3.

This allows caffeine to fit into adenosine receptors in the brain, blocking them and preventing adenosine from binding to them to produce feelings of tiredness. In turn, the blocked receptors stimulate the release of other natural stimulants and allow some of them, such as dopamine, to work more effectively. This further increases alertness and reduces feelings of tiredness 1 , 5. Caffeine acts as a stimulant on the brain, reducing fatigue, increasing alertness and enhancing concentration.

Just as with other addictive substances, caffeine may become physically addictive. For instance, your brain cells may start to produce more adenosine receptors as a way to compensate for the ones blocked by caffeine 1. On the other hand, abruptly cutting off the caffeine supply suddenly leaves your brain with a lot of free receptors for adenosine to bind to. This can produce strong feelings of tiredness and is thought to be the main reason behind the caffeine withdrawal symptoms that often arise from going cold turkey 1.

While daily caffeine consumption creates a physical addiction , the act of regularly drinking coffee may promote a behavioral addiction 1.

Rather, the social environment in which coffee is consumed and the feelings that accompany its consumption are what may encourage you to have another cup. More research is needed 9. Caffeine can become addictive through changes it causes in your brain. Additionally, drinking coffee often produces positive feelings, which encourage you to repeat the behavior. As is the case with other substances, the risk of becoming addicted to coffee depends on various factors.

For one, experts believe that your likelihood of getting hooked may be influenced, in part, by your genetics 1. Naturally, regular coffee drinkers have an increased risk of undergoing the brain changes previously described and becoming dependent on caffeine. For the moment, what remains unclear is how long it takes for your body and brain to physically adapt to daily caffeine intake.

What experts do know is that withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, lack of concentration, drowsiness and irritability can appear as little as 12—24 hours after your last caffeine dose, and can last up to nine days In addition, they can result from reducing your daily caffeine dose by as little as mg — the equivalent of one cup of coffee per day The good news is that the severity of symptoms usually peaks within the first two days and goes down gradually thereafter Regular caffeine consumption is needed to stimulate the physical adaptations consistent with addiction.

Arguably, addictions may vary in strength. That said, most share clinically meaningful symptoms, including:. These symptoms are often used by clinicians to diagnose an addiction, and a recent review reports that a good proportion of caffeine users develop them However, despite this, many experts are wary of officially labeling caffeine as an addictive substance.

Several reasons are cited in support of this view First, addictive substances such as amphetamines, cocaine and nicotine are thought to stimulate the area of the brain linked to reward, motivation and addiction to a higher extent than caffeine does 9.

In addition, for most people, regular caffeine consumption poses little harm to themselves and society, which is less often the case with illegal drug use. This tends to discourage people from consuming more, rendering caffeine intake self-limiting 9. When it comes to caffeine withdrawal, symptoms do not last as long and tend to be much milder than those linked to stronger addictions. They also generally do not require professional intervention or medication