People often wonder about caffeine being addictive. After all, several students and early morning workers drink some kind of caffeine, whether it is coffee, tea, a soft drink, or something else.
Astrid Nehlig, a researcher from a Health and Medical Institute in France, says that one to three cups of coffee consumed a day does not affect the brain’s addictive mechanism, the nucleus accumbens. He recently did a study with animals in a laboratory and confirmed that even though caffeine gives a surge of energy and alertness, it does not cause addiction until about seven or more cups of coffee a day. Even with that amount, the debate is still ongoing. Some effects on humans when a high level of caffeine is consumed are increased anxiety, depression, or nervousness. Nehlig acknowledges that the debate of caffeine causing an addiction is still one that is being researched today.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990322061015.htm
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On the contrary, I found another article about caffeine and addiction. Dr. Roland Griffiths, a professor at Johns Hopkins, said, “Caffeine is the world's most commonly used stimulant, and it's cheap and readily available so people can maintain their use of caffeine quite easily.” This article states that caffeine causes an addiction because of the withdrawal symptoms experienced when someone, who is used to consuming a certain amount of caffeine daily, does not have caffeine for some period of time. The Johns Hopkins study says that caffeine withdrawal should be listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, headache, flu-like symptoms, and difficulty concentrating.
I found it interesting that the average daily intake for caffeine consumers in the United States is about three to five bottles of a soft drink, or approximately 280mg.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/09_29_04.html
I realize that this is entirely anecdotal evidence, but every time I go more than two or so days without caffeine (coke) I always get a headache. If that's not withdrawal, then I don't know what is.
I found that a lot of my friends feel that they are in withdrawal upon not having caffeine for a couple of days. Yet they complain while they continue to practice the usual unhealthy college habits, such as minimal sleep and no exercise, due to cramming. I have had my share of coffee within a day, but was able to easily deal with caffeine withdrawal, as I had practice and would be drinking tons of water everyday.
I found that a lot of my friends feel that they are in withdrawal upon not having caffeine for a couple of days. Yet they complain while they continue to practice the usual unhealthy college habits, such as minimal sleep and no exercise, due to cramming. I have had my share of coffee within a day, but was able to easily deal with caffeine withdrawal, as I had practice and would be drinking tons of water everyday.
I do not know a lot about what causes someone to become addicted to a drug. It seems to me that caffeine could have different effects on different people. For example, I know that some people become addicted to painkillers when they are following the instructions of their doctor. I suppose some would say that these people have developed tolerance for the drug rather than an addiction, but it seems to me that the effects are really one and the same. Why couldn't caffeine be the same way? Maybe some people can become addicted and others just don't.
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