Caffeine Can Give You a Boost, But Don’t Get Too Much

Throughout the first year of my tenure here at Townsquare Media, I drank lots of coffee.  The biggest reason was because it is a freebie.  The company, for some reason, allows us (on their dime) to drink as much of the stuff as we want without having to plunk down any change.  But after a while, I realized that the caffeine in the coffee wasn't just giving me a "boost," it was making me irritable, too.

This isn't to say that ingesting too much caffeine will make you irritable.  It simply means that it makes me a little irritable.  So I began to watch how much coffee and caffeinated diet soft drinks I would drink in a day.  While getting a little caffeine in the system helps me get out of first gear, it also can also make me grumpier if I get too much of it.

Coffee, tea and diet soft drinks are American staples; from the time we wake up until the time we hit the hay.  Heck, it's been shown through various studies that a little caffeine can be beneficial.  It may help to decrease the risk of certain types of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and dementia.

On the flip side, side effects of caffeine are often very uncomfortable.  It can make you jittery, increase nervousness and anxiety, cause nausea and headaches, and dehydrate your body.  Caffeine can also increase blood pressure and agitate your heart so that it doesn't beat at a normal rhythm.  It can also disrupt your sleep.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance in many of our foods, so you'll most likely get some every day, whether or not you want it.  But how much is too much for you?  Everyone's body is different, so it's something you have to figure out for yourself.