Caffeine is widely consumed all over the world with tea and coffee being the most commonly consumed beverages that contain caffeine. While tea and coffee are consumed quite often, not much thought is put into the effects caffeine has on one’s performance throughout their day. Once a person becomes reliant on caffeine, the quality of their performance goes down without their daily dose.

Caffeine is mildly addictive; there is no need to worry as caffeine does not threaten one’s health, economic standing, or wealth like addictive drugs do. While caffeine is not as harmful and addictive as other drugs, it is more commonly used. If withdrawal is in play, there are few unfavorable symptoms. According to a study from Johns Hopkins University, the withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and one may even feel like they have the flu with nausea and muscle pain.

Taking into account the withdrawal symptoms of someone who has a caffeine addiction, their performance, whether in school or at work, is expected to decline sharply. Not only are physical symptoms present, but symptoms that also affect one’s mood. Difficulty concentrating is one of the worst symptoms one can face when it comes to keeping one’s performance up because the probability of making mistakes increases when one cannot focus. Imagine trying to file paperwork or working on a laborious task while not being able to focus, a lot of harm can arise. Everyone knows how it feels to have muscle pain and the flu, combine that with a headache and the formula for a bad day is created. No matter what type of job one works, if they are facing physical pain and discomfort caused by the caffeine withdrawal, the performance of one will drop.  

While caffeine is great for giving a person a boost of energy, once the body becomes reliant on caffeine and withdrawal symptoms are felt, performance may drop due to the physical and mental symptoms that arise. Be weary with the intake of caffeine when planning a busy week!

– Eleazar Martinez