There are also some conditions that may make it more dangerous to consume caffeine, such as: Even small amounts of these supplements can be the equivalent of over 20 cups of coffee. Note: You should exercise extreme caution when using caffeine supplements or powders that contain pure or very concentrated caffeine, as the FDA reports there have been at least two caffeine-related deaths in the US linked to these products in the last few years. Most of the time these side effects will subside once the caffeine is out of your system, which can take up to 10 hours. In the case of excessive consumption, Soffer says you may experience a variety of physical symptoms such as: This is what causes caffeine to give you energy, but it can also result in unpleasant side effects if you've gone a bit overboard with your caffeine intake. So what's 'too much' caffeine to cause symptoms can vary from person to person.Ĭaffeine is a stimulant that excites the nervous system, says Gary Soffer, MD, an integrative medicine physician at Yale Medicine. So, caffeinate responsibly.While the recommended limit is 400 mg/day of caffeine, everyone is different when it comes to their tolerance of it.

admissions for caffeine-induced anxiety - is actually the most pressing public health concern. That sort of stimulant-empowered bullheaded behavior - rather than the E.R. four times more likely to intend to drive while intoxicated.' Because, as SAMHSA puts it, 'Individuals, especially young drinkers, may incorrectly believe that consumption of caffeine can 'undo' the effects of alcohol intake and make it safe to drive after drinking.' The most interesting implication that the report mentions is from a study in which 'bar patrons who consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks were. In Australia, listing quantified guarana content on beverages is mandatory. Energy drinks can advertise that they have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee but when you include guarana, they have a much stronger stimulant effect. That may be because of the extra caffeine in guarana. Still, despite the fact that a Starbucks venti coffee has three times as much listed caffeine as a can of Monster, some people swear they're more wired after drinking an energy drink. For energy drinks, 'more than 500 mg' is far from the norm:Ĭenter for Science in the Public Interest Those examples are a little misleading, though. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has a great list of how much caffeine specific foods/drinks contain. For a frame of reference, SAMHSA notes, 'The total amount of caffeine in a can or bottle of an energy drink varies from about 80 to more than 500 mg, compared with about 100 mg in a 5-ounce cup of coffee or 50 mg in a 12-ounce cola.' And it does increase the likelihood they will have a seizure. But that's in a controlled hospital environment where they are trying to give people seizures.

In caffeine-modified electroconvulsive therapy, for patients with depression, up to 2,000 mg has been given - intravenously. How much is a 'large amount' of caffeine? Like alcohol, it's relative to metabolism and tolerance. And as the SAMHSA report puts it, 'Large amounts of caffeine can cause adverse effects such as insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat, and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care.' So, essentially, energy drinks can be looked at as caffeine.

And they're not reasoned to play a role in intoxication effects. The vitamins and amino acids that many drinks include shouldn't give you a noticeable burst of energy unless you were previously malnourished and vitamin-deficient. Why are these drinks sending people to the emergency room? The only ingredient(s) in common energy drinks that have been proven to have acute stimulant effects are caffeine and guarana (which SAMHSA defines as 'a plant product containing concentrated caffeine').

160 mg of caffeine