Negative Effects of Coffee

For some, coffee is an everyday staple that is needed to start their day. Whether it is morning, afternoon, or a late night study session, coffee provides a boost of energy when it’s needed. It is one of the most popular drinks in each generation, and for some people drinking it has turned into an addiction. That explains the coffee shops on almost every corner you look at. The National Coffee Association provided a study that showed that 64 % of Americans including ages between teens and adults drink coffee every day. While coffee works wonders when people need a pick-me-up, too much coffee takes a toll on our bodies causing some negative effects due to the caffeine levels. 

There are two ways coffee affects people’s bodies: physically and mentally. Medical author Dr. Jasmine Shaihk wrote a story on MedicineNet which included some of the main negative effects of coffee. According to her article, the physical effects include headaches, dizziness, heartburn, muscle tremors, and dehydration. Agreeing with Jasmine, Healthline included more physical effects which were jitters, a rapid heartbeat, and stool problems.

On the other side of the spectrum, mental effects from coffee are common as well. Restlessness, irritability, anxiety and nervousness, insomnia, and addiction to caffeine are all results of being a full-time coffee drinker according to MedicineNet and Healthline. While people drink coffee to get energy and stay awake, the caffeine in coffee stimulates brains for some time, but then you come down from it. This is where an addiction starts to kick in, and withdrawals from drinking coffee come with it. Bodies and brains develop a tolerance to the amount of coffee with caffeine that we intake.

I spoke to college student Jillian Aziz who used to be very dependent on drinking coffee daily. She said, “I used to drink a large coffee every day, sometimes twice a day. It came to a point that I would get bad headaches when I didn’t have a coffee but now that I don’t need one every day, I feel dehydrated when I do get one”. While the mental effects of drinking coffee can come from people drinking it, it also is what happens if someone does not drink the coffee that they trained their body to need on a daily basis. This is where withdrawals come in.

All in all, the main point of having coffee is to gain alertness and energy. Coffee works well for some people but does not for others because of the side effects. These effects may not be experienced by everyone that drinks coffee, but it is what the caffeine could potentially do. Of course people enjoy what coffee can do for them, or it wouldn’t be so popular and apparent in people’s daily lives. With that being said, it’s important to be aware of the amount of coffee consumed and how it could impact each person because everyone is different.