COFFEE ADDICTS

You might be an addict without actually realising it. In the Western world, more than 80 per cent of humans ingest caffeine on a regular basis in amounts that are large enough to affect their brains. Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant that affects the same part of the brain as cocaine, but in a very different way. It mostly enhances concentration and improves mood, but it creates a surge in dopamine similar to other addictive drugs, but on a much smaller scale. Caffeine drinkers also experience an increase in their tolerance, meaning the more coffee they drink, the more they need to receive the same energising results.

Like any other drug, the removal of caffeine-packed coffee will result in the body experiencing withdrawal, symptoms of which include headaches, fatigue and decreased motivation. However, unlike other more destructive drugs, studies have shown that quitting caffeine is much more easily achieved than quitting substances like cocaine.