Coffee is considered one of the most popular psychoactive drugs of our time. It’s legal and just around the corner. You can drink as much as you want and feel its aftereffects. Caffeine is the chemical compound, its reaction to the brain generally gets positive reviews.
What drinking coffee does is makes the mind sing on edge, it boils the blood in motion while stimulating the muscles.
Coffee is capable of accelerating the digestive system, keeps you alert, while supplying the capacity to engage longer when it comes to regulating concentration and mood.
Overall studies have shown there are certain health benefits of coffee, as it can decrease the risk of diabetes for pre-diabetics.
The mighty caffeine can lower incidences of certain liver ailments, and even help in the proper functioning of the heart after a meal.
But Can Coffee Really Help
What conventional wisdom will tell you is drinks which contain caffeine should be cautioned, as they can increase anxiety.
But there’s contrary belief some may actually benefit from drinking coffee, when suffering from certain symptoms. It’s because of the positive mood effects which are provided by this acid.
What it does is increases a sense of energy and euphoria, specifically for those who’s had a personal history of anxiety or panic attacks.
It’s found during certain episodes of situational anxiety they might of experienced, it’s the effects of coffee that made them less panic stricken.
The reason for this is uncertain as the more coffee is consumed, the less anxious and calmer they felt.
My Relaxing Coffee
What’s found is there’s an actual clinical reason for this, as what caffeine does is helps the brain release dopamine directly into the prefrontal cortex. This is a region of the brain which regulates mood.
It’s also thought the presence of caffeine, might help in the storage of dopamine in the amygdala.
This is the area of the brain which plays an important role when it comes to anxiety regulation.
The Mood Uprising
In various studies, the injection of caffeine was clearly beneficial when it came to mild depression in older individuals. Investigators found drinking more coffee elevated their mood.
What was compared was those who drank just one cup or less of caffeinated per week, to those who drank two cups per day.
The result was a 14% percent decrease in the degree of depression, while those who drank up to four cups, had a 22% percent decreased risk.
The Chemical Romance
This might sound counter intuitive for some, but for certain individuals, it may potentially help in the reduction of situational anxiety or panic attacks, because of the chemical reaction.
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter chemical which propels the feeling of love for the first time, while playing a secondary role of feeling motivated and happy.
This chemical in the brain triggered by caffeine, allows the feeling of positively, while reducing becoming scared or nervous.
It’s found the levels of dopamine are low in those who are depressed or experience social anxiety.
So under certain circumstances, having a cup of coffee before the situational stress or panic arises, may actually help.
For others however, it’s found coffee can have an opposite effect. It can make some feel worse, more panicky with anxiety, while disrupting sleep. So the reaction of caffeine can be arbitrary.
How Much Caffeine Becomes Too Much
What needs to be known is although in some cases, drinking coffee can soothe social anxiety and mood symptoms, long-term coffee consumption can contribute towards “burnout.”
Since caffeine is a mood boosting, mood altering substance, too much in the body, even for those who can tolerate large amounts, can have adverse effects such as a quickening pulse.
The Side Effects Of Caffeine
There are known negative health effects, when drinking caffeine long term or in high doses.
Doing so can result in mineral loss of nutrients such as magnesium, which plays a key role in the functioning of the brains neurotransmitters.
Coffee is also associated with contributing to fluctuations in blood sugar, which is what elevates the anxiety levels.
What’s known for certain is if you are depleted, and drink excessive coffee, the fatigue effect becomes accelerated.
Caffeine is known to prolong symptoms for those who experiences insomnia. It’s the poor sleep cycles that contributes to the elevated stress and anxiety in those who are predisposed.
If you’re not sleeping well, then avoid all forms of caffeine until the sleeping issues are regulated or resolved.
How Much Coffee To Drink
As far as dosage for coffee goes, what most will function best is around two cups per day. Being sipped slowly appears to have the best effect.
Drinking more will tend to make those who suffer from anxiety become more anxious, while experiencing heart palpitations.
It’s also found healthier to skip the sugar, and if one is sensitive to dairy, then switch to milk or a natural non-dairy creamer.
Some are now adding fats such as butter, which slows down the “hit” of the caffeine, which creates a more regulated boost in mood.
Now Give Me Some Coffee
Whether coffee is beneficial for you or not depends on your particular situation.
Initially, when experiencing anxiety, it may be best to first lay down a healthy foundation you can work through, before deciding drinking plenty of caffeine is the solution.
Other methods that are known to naturally reduce anxiety includes:
• Become mindful of what you’re doing
• Establish good sleeping habits
• Balance your blood sugar levels
• Maintain a regular routine exercise program
• Maintain a healthy digestive system and diet
• Regulate proper supplemental nutrient intake
What’s known for certain is for some, if the type or severity of the panic attack or situational anxiety experienced is related to low dopamine levels, then coffee might be helpful.