Are you addicted yet?
You find the smell of coffee satisfyingly delicious. Every time you walk by a coffee shop, you feel compelled to stop and get a cup. You have a favorite barista at the local coffee shop and she knows your order by heart (sounds like a love story if you ask us).
At home, you have a collection of “I love coffee” mugs, too many bags of coffee beans, and an array of coffee making equipment, from milk frothers to french presses.
If
that sounds like you, you’re probably addicted to coffee!
But even if you don’t have lots of “I love coffee” mugs and other coffee paraphernalia, you may still be addicted. If you can’t get through the day without your morning cuppa, you’re probably dependent on caffeine!
If you want to know whether you’re addicted to coffee or not, keep reading!
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1. You Have to Start Your Day with a Cup of Coffee
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, but if you need it to feel awake enough to go about your day, you may be physically dependent on coffee.
Caffeine is one of the main ingredients in coffee. Caffeine is a stimulant, so if you consume it in moderation, it’ll give you a nice boost of mental clarity and focus whenever you drink it.
But
if you develop a caffeine dependence from drinking coffee every day, you’ll
need caffeine just to feel like your normal self.
Say what?! Isn’t coffee supposed to give you more energy in the morning? Isn’t that why we all drink it?!
That, my friends, is the big myth about coffee.
Coffee doesn’t give you more energy. If you weren’t a regular coffee drinker, you would feel just as awake in the morning as you do after your morning cup. Coffee just gets you back to your normal baseline of energy. This is because your body adapts to your levels of coffee consumption over time and builds up a tolerance to caffeine, much like other things you consume. Your body just gets used to it, humans are just that cool!
Much
like other forms of dependence or addiction, you’ll need more and more caffeine
to experience the same stimulant effects that you once did. Your body also
starts to expect and need that caffeine hit, so you’ll feel really bad if you don’t get it!
We’re hopelessly addicted to coffee, but we’re in good company. 64% of Americans drink a cup of coffee every day.
So it’s ok if you’re addicted to coffee… we all are!
2. You Get Withdrawal Symptoms if You Try to Quit Drinking Coffee
If you’re addicted to coffee, you definitely notice if you miss one of your regular cups (at least, we notice it in our office at times). If you normally drink two cups of coffee in the morning and you only have time to down one, you may have a headache and feel tired the whole day.
These
symptoms are the beginning stages of withdrawal, and they get even worse if you
try to cut back on your coffee consumption or quit cold turkey.
You’ll get headaches, fatigue, nausea, and mood swings. You’ll have a hard time concentrating and just generally feel like you have the flu. Awful, right?
Our solution is just not to quit! But if you feel these withdrawal patterns, be sure to taper it down slowly. You know you’re drinking a awful lot of caffeine/coffee if you begin to have withdrawals, it’s time to take a step back no matter how good the coffee tastes.
3. Your Digestion is Off
Another sign that you’re a habitual coffee drinker is poor digestion.
Coffee is not the best thing for digestion. It has diuretic properties, so it causes your body to flush out water. If you don’t drink enough water to compensate for the water that you’re losing, you may become a little dehydrated.
Hydration is really important! Dehydration is one of the leading causes of constipation. So if you’re a little backed up, your morning coffee may be to blame.
Coffee can also cause digestive problems like acid reflux and diarrhea in some people. The acid in coffee can trigger heartburn for some, while others may be sent running to the bathroom by regular and decaf coffee.
Researchers aren’t certain why coffee has this effect on some people. They think coffee might promote the release of gastrin, a hormone that causes motor activity in the colon.
Luckily, coffee doesn’t have a laxative effect on us… if it did, we might consider quitting, even though we love our coffee!
There you have it! Those are the physical signs that let you know you’re addicted to coffee. What do you think—are you addicted? Do you still get a buzz from coffee or do you need it just to feel alive?
Let us know in the comments section below and join our 80k+ Coffee Sesh community on Instagram too! Also if you want to learn more about making coffee from people just like you, be sure to join our private Facebook group here at Daily Coffee Talk. You’ll be able to learn how to brew, how to roast and most importantly how to enjoy the perfect cup of coffee!
We’ll brew ya later! ☕️
