Turns out there may be too much of a good thing, at least where caffeine and operating a motor vehicle are concerned. Coffee and have long been used to increase alertness for tired motorists, but one study finds that there comes a point where too much coffee could pose a risk.
As reported by the Telegraph, a study published in the journal Safety Science from Loughborough University examined the impact of caffeine consumption on over 3,000 truck drivers to see how it affected their driving ability and safety. The truck drivers were divided into two groups, low- and high-caffeine consumers. The low group, with 1,653 participants, is defined as having one caffeinated drink a day. The high group, 1,354 in total, drank five or more caffeinated beverages a day and averaged 7.5 per day.
While caffeine is an effective short-term remedy for tiredness thanks to how it blocks the “neurotransmitter adenosine, which makes you feel tired, relaxed, and sleepy,” the study found that excessive amounts of caffeine was associated with negative outcomes.
In particular, the high-caffeine group were found to be involved in more motor accidents than the low-caffeine group. Per the Telegraph, the effects of too much caffeine include poor decision making and reduced concentration resulting from “neurological symptoms such as anxiety, dizziness, and headaches,” tremors from overstimulation of the central nervous system, and slowed reactions.
The high-caffeine group was also had poorer general health than the low-caffeine group. They smoked and drank alcohol more, exercised less, had poorer diets, slept less, felt sleepier during the day, and were “more prone to risky and aggressive driving.”
It is important to note that this study is purely observational, and it may be the case that there is some underlying cause making the high-caffeine group also prone to other unhealthy behavior, thus it isn’t the caffeine amount resulting in the negative outcomes. Still, the safe play is to use caffeine only as a short term solution to tiredness and not a permanent strategy. Or maybe have a little coffee nap?
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
