For many, coffee is the morning aroma that has the effect of waking up each morning. Hot or cold, the drink is one of the most consumed in the world and provides health benefits as it contains a lot of nutrients. However, moderation is necessary to avoid overdoing the dose and causing adverse effects. But after all, how many cups of coffee can you drink per day? See below.
How many cups of coffee to drink per day
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation , the daily dose of caffeine may depend from person to person, but on average, a healthy adult can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine, that is, up to 4 cups of coffee.
However, for children and breastfeeding women, consumption should be reduced, with 1 cup for children over 2 years of age and up to 2 cups for pregnant women (and breastfeeding women). Furthermore, there are also people who are sensitive to caffeine. In these cases, the recommended daily amount is up to 2 cups of coffee at most.
The organization’s calculation is based on the amounts of caffeine concentrated in a common filter coffee. But it’s worth remembering that when coffee is espresso, the amount of caffeine can be tripled.
Coffee withdrawal
It is estimated that 75% of adults have the habit of drinking coffee, and almost 50% drink it daily. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in 2022, demonstrated that caffeine temporarily increases blood pressure and in higher doses can cause anxiety and difficulty falling asleep, if consumed later in the day.
According to Dr. Gleison Guimarães , a pulmonologist specializing in sleep medicine, withdrawal occurs when people continue drinking coffee on autopilot, even if they don’t need it. However, excessive consumption can create dependence with specific symptoms.
“This effect can be felt 12 hours after the last drink. When stopping consumption, you may experience symptoms such as headaches, irritability, fatigue and difficulty concentrating”, comments the doctor.
Risks of overdosing on caffeine
In addition to traditional brewed coffee, it is worth remembering that our diet may also contain other amounts of caffeine that must be within the amount of 400mh per day, such as dark chocolate, teas or supplements.
“Drinking more than 1200 mg per day can cause agitation, severe anxiety, high blood pressure and palpitations. This occurs both with the excessive use of tablets or supplements in liquid form, such as energy drinks, or in powdered versions. For those who overindulge, it is still possible to have difficulty regulating their emotions”, explains the doctor who is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
Coffee can disturb your sleep: see recommended precautions
It is worth noting that many people sleep poorly, less than ideal, and see coffee as a quick choice, but it is not a substitute for sleep. “Not enough sleep can reduce alertness, slow down reaction time, and disrupt reasoning and decision-making. The danger in this is that you enter a cycle of needing more coffee to overcome tiredness, and excess caffeine negatively affects sleep”, comments Dr. Gleison Guimarães.
Therefore, the doctor advises that the best time to drink coffee is 1 hour after waking up. This is because in the first 60 minutes of your day, the body is producing a high level of cortisol , considered the main stress hormone .
“By ingesting the substance during this peak, we end up teaching our body that it does not need cortisol at that moment. Therefore, prefer to take it at times when cortisol levels naturally decrease. Take advantage of the hours from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, and 1:30 pm to 3 pm, periods when you need that extra strength to get through the day. Remember that the ideal is to consume caffeine no more than 8 to 10 hours before bedtime. This rule is golden”, explains the expert.
