Caffeine is one of the most abundant drugs that people commonly use on a daily basis.
In North America, 80-90% of adults use caffeine on a daily basis.
Many people don’t even think of it as a drug—they don’t consider the results and chemical process of excessive caffeine ingestion.
How safe is caffeine and how similar is it to other drugs?
We took a look at what researchers and doctors are saying to help determine safe daily doses of caffeine.
Caffeine Is Addictive
The cup of coffee you have everyday—or maybe several times a day—is actually addictive. Like many drugs that alter mood an behavior, caffeine is actually an addictive stimulant.
A recent article in the academic journal Psychopharmacology studied the history of caffeine addiction and cataloged common caffeine withdrawal symptoms[1].
The article concluded that, despite over 170 years of extensive medical reports of caffeine withdrawal, scientists are only currently beginning experiments to study the addictive nature of caffeine.
The work of these researchers resulted in the creation of a new mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)—caffeine withdrawal syndrome.