According To Studies, Stopping Drinking Coffee Poses A Risk To Mental Health

Illustration of drinking coffee (Unsplash / Jenny Ueberberg)

JAKARTA - Are you a coffee drinker every morning or between work? According to studies, trying to quit the habit altogether can put you at risk of headaches, fatigue, irritability, worsening moods, and difficulty concentrating.

In a psychology book entitled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder writes that drastic caffeine cessation is included in the list of mental health conditions.

Reporting from Live Science, Wednesday, March 17, the effect of suddenly not drinking coffee or significantly quitting the habit of drinking coffee. It can cause mental problems related to physical conditions as well.

Another study conducted by John Hopkins Hospital investigated how caffeine-containing coffee works in the brain. This answers the question why it is difficult to stop drinking coffee when you have a working brain activity.

The study was conducted on a number of participants in America who drank an average of 3 cups of coffee a day. Caffeine is a stimulant to strengthen the central nervous system. The most natural sources of caffeine are coffee and tea, although nowadays caffeine tablets are being produced for similar use.

A number of studies also reveal that the effects of coffee are positive. Such as a study conducted in 2009 published in the National Library of Medicine.

The study revealed that 50 milligrams of coffee can increase the body's metabolism. Better yet, coffee can burn calories without doing anything but drinking coffee. To feel happier and calmer, 100 milligrams of coffee can reduce bad mood and anxiety.

However, from the positive list, a cup or two of coffee a day has a negative risk with someone who has an unfit medical condition.

First, too much coffee or consuming more than 400 milligrams of coffee can make your heart beat fast, your body shakes, headaches, dehydration, and stomach problems.

Caffeine will also affect the sleep cycle because the effect works for an average of 4 hours for people who are accustomed to drinking coffee. For a woman who is taking birth control pills, the effect can even be more than 4 hours and for someone who smokes it will take an average of 3 hours.

So, for coffee drinkers, can caffeine cause addiction? According to James Lane, professor emeritus of psychology at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North California, consuming caffeine every day is not called an addiction.

"The use of caffeine is socially acceptable, and because people consume large amounts of it are not considered to be acting like addicts," says Lane.

Illustration of making coffee (Unsplash / Mike Marquez)

Dr. Peter Martin, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Vaderbilt University School of Medicine and director of the Institute for Coffee Studies in Nashville adds, caffeine is less addictive.

"Caffeine has few side effects when compared to addictive drugs," explained Martin.

Someone might say 'I'm addicted to coffee' to describe their habit of caffeine. It works in the brain much like the adenosine molecule which transmits nerve impulses in the brain.

Adenosine molecules that bind to receptors can make you sleepy, slow down nerve cell activity, and promote relaxation. Meanwhile, the caffeine molecule replaces adenosine, binds to the same receptors and blocks the action of adenosine that triggers drowsiness and accelerates nerve cell activity.

Due to its positive effect, various products use caffeinated coffee. Starting from make-up products, soaps, shampoos, lotions, fragrances, eye creams to headaches and menstrual pain relievers.