Millions of people depend on caffeine, a natural stimulant, on a daily basis. However, consuming too much of it may result in negative side effects like trouble falling asleep, a faster heartbeat, jitters, and shakiness.
If you’ve consumed too much coffee and are experiencing jitteriness, trouble sleeping, an elevated heart rate, stress, and shakiness, you might be wondering if there’s a way to remove the extra caffeine from your body.
How to flush caffeine out of your system? You can make it through methods such as staying hydrated and practicing deep breathing.
This article explains whether caffeine can be flushed out and offers advice for minimizing jitters and other unpleasant side effects.
Related Reading: Does Sprite Have Caffeine?
Can Caffeine Be Eliminated From Your System?
The effect of caffeine lasts at least several hours, is the answer.
You can’t really flush caffeine out of your system once it has ingested it.
Waiting for caffeine to flush naturally is the most effective method of eliminating it.
How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?
The average person can safely consume 400 mg of caffeine per day or the equivalent of about 4 cups (945 mL) of coffee.
The ability of your liver to process caffeine and other factors like age, genetics, weight, and tolerance to caffeine varies. Additionally, some medications like oral contraceptives and heart medications may prolong the circulation of caffeine in your body.
In order to reduce their risk of preterm birth, miscarriage, and low birth weight, pregnant women should keep their daily caffeine intake to 200 mg.
Children should avoid caffeine due to developmental risks, and teenagers should limit their intake
The Symptoms Of Excessive Caffeine
The stimulant caffeine. This is why it aids in waking you up in the morning. And a significant factor in why you like it is that.
There are other indications of too much caffeine in addition to that jittery leg. They range from uncomfortable symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, and anxiety to relatively mild symptoms like sweating and restlessness.
The good news is that even though these symptoms are uncomfortable, most of them won’t endanger your life. On the other hand, cardiovascular symptoms call for caution.
Effects Of Caffeine On Heart
Caffeine increases blood pressure momentarily and speeds up your heart rate. And most people aren’t bothered by this.
However, excessive caffeine can cause fast and irregular heart rhythms in people who already have a heart condition (known or unknown), which may result in cardiac arrest.
“People who consume a lot of caffeine may experience their heart thumping, skipping beats, or beating noticeably quickly. Sridhar advises going to the emergency room if your heartbeat is erratic or stuck at a high rate, if your symptoms are overwhelming, or if you feel lightheaded or faint.
This is due to the fact that dizziness may be a sign that your body is not adequately supplying blood to your brain.
You can make an appointment with a doctor to get checked out instead if your symptoms are mild and don’t include dizziness but you’re still worried, advises the expert.
If you already have an arrhythmia or seizure disorder, you should also talk to your doctor about your caffeine intake because caffeine can make these conditions worse.
Caffeine Can Increase Our Anxiety
The jitters are brought on by caffeine’s impact on your nervous system. However, if you are predisposed to anxiety, this jitteriness may make you feel even more anxious.
“According to Sridhar, jitteriness has the same effect as anxiety on someone who is predisposed to it.
This anxiety can be exacerbated by any heart-related symptoms you encounter.
“Having a racing heart tends to make people more anxious and may even make them feel panicky, according to Sridhar.
Therefore, caffeine may exacerbate your anxiety or panic attacks if you are prone to either of those conditions. As a result, you’re probably not experiencing a heart attack but are instead struggling to distinguish between anxiety and a heart attack.
How To Get Caffeine Out Of Your Body?
The effects of caffeine are known to last for several hours, so if you drank a lot of coffee, soda, energy drinks, or other caffeinated drinks, you might experience stronger jitters. What is the fastest way to get caffeine out of your system?
In fact, it’s difficult to remove caffeine from your body once it’s been ingested. Waiting for it to naturally flush itself is the only way to get rid of it.
To lessen its side effects, you can still take a few measures.
Eat Fiber-rich Food
The absorption of caffeine into your bloodstream may be slowed by eating. Select foods that take longer to digest and are high in fiber, like whole grains, beans, lentils, starchy vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Take L-theanine
Although it won’t counteract caffeine’s stimulant effects, this amino acid supplement may help lower blood pressure and ease anxiety. Be sure to speak to your healthcare professional before taking it
Stop Caffeinating As Soon As You Notice Adverse Effects
Stop taking caffeine right away if you experience unpleasant symptoms like shakiness. Coffee, tea, energy drinks, soda, dark chocolate, and some ice creams and desserts are among the foods and drinks that contain caffeine.
If you still want to enjoy the flavor and health advantages of coffee, decaf is a good option. However, it only has 2–7 mg of caffeine per cup (240 mL)—a very small amount.
Pay attention to any supplements, personal care items, and medications that might contain caffeine. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), for instance, can contain up to 40–60 mg of the painkiller in a single tablet.
Finally, some formulas for improving performance, such as pre-workout supplements, may contain high levels of caffeine—up to 250 mg in just 2 teaspoons (10 grams).
Wait It Out
The stimulatory effects of caffeine can last for three to five hours and are typically felt within the first 45 minutes of consumption.
Additionally, it can take up to 10 hours for caffeine to fully leave your system.
It’s best to stop consuming caffeine six to eight hours before bed if you’re worried about your ability to sleep.
Stay Hydrated
For the duration of the day, staying hydrated requires drinking water.
Numerous anecdotal reports assert that drinking water reduces the jitters brought on by caffeine, despite the paucity of research in this area. Dehydration may exacerbate symptoms, which could account for this.
Consequently, while you wait for the effects of the caffeine to wear off, it may be beneficial to drink more water.
Furthermore, caffeine may have a mild diuretic effect on people who are not used to it, increasing urination and causing more frequent bowel movements. Although it is uncommon for people who regularly consume caffeine from coffee or tea to experience these effects, staying hydrated can help them lessen.
Get Moving
To calm your nerves and reduce anxiety, take a short walk.
Avoid Dense Foods
If at all possible, try to avoid eating while experiencing the negative effects of too much caffeine.
The rate at which your body absorbs caffeine can be slowed by dense foods and foods high in fiber.
While being hungry on an empty stomach can sometimes be beneficial, there can also be negative consequences.
Try low-fiber foods like eggs, white bread, or white rice if you feel like eating something.
Take A Nap
You might think I’m crazy because caffeine frequently makes it difficult to fall asleep.
But while you sleep, taking a nap can give your body some time to process the caffeine.
Avoid sleeping for too long because it can worsen your symptoms. An effective power nap should last twenty minutes at most.
For those who experience symptoms like nausea or heart palpitations, lying down and attempting to nap may also be preferable to exercising.
Take A Cold Shower
The advantages of taking cold showers are incredible, though they may take some getting used to.
Contrary to popular belief, taking a hot and cold shower can actually help improve circulation. Caffeine actually slows down blood flow.
Even though it has been shown to help fight depression, taking a cold shower can help you temporarily forget about the symptoms.
It’s not all that bad once you get used to cold showers, and who knows? You could grow to love them.
Avoid Alcohol
You don’t have to completely avoid it, so don’t be alarmed.
Alcohol can harm your metabolism, prolong the effects of caffeine, and make mixing caffeine and alcohol dangerous. When in party mode, some people don’t mind this, but it’s not ideal in other circumstances.
So, when you start to get jittery, just remember that doing the difficult things won’t help either.
Practice Deep Breathing
Take five minutes of slow, deep breathing if you’re experiencing anxiety. As an alternative, try practicing meditation to relax your mind and body.
The Bottom Line
The effects of caffeine can linger in the body for several hours. Sleep patterns may be disturbed, and it may be difficult to relax when feeling jittery and awake.
Lack of sleep, jitters, shakiness and an elevated heart rate are all negative effects of excessive caffeine consumption.
There isn’t a reliable at-home method to remove caffeine from your system besides waiting it out and avoiding caffeine. Nevertheless, you can lessen its side effects by drinking plenty of water, taking walks, and consuming foods high in fiber.