It turns out that there can be too much of a good thing, at least when it comes to caffeine and driving. Coffee has long been used to aid make tired drivers more alert, but one study found that at some point, too much coffee could pose a risk.
As reported Telegraphstudy published in the journal With University of Loughborough studied the effects of caffeine consumption on over 3,000 truck drivers to see how it affected their driving ability and safety. Truck drivers were divided into two groups: low- and high-caffeine consumers. The low group of 1,653 participants was defined as drinking one caffeinated beverage per day. The highest group, a total of 1,354 people, drank five or more caffeinated drinks per day, with an average of 7.5 per day.
Although caffeine is an effective short-term treatment for fatigue by blocking “the neurotransmitter adenosine, which makes you feel tired, relaxed and sleepy,” the study found that excessive amounts of caffeine were associated with negative effects.
In particular, it was found that the group of people consuming a lot of caffeine was involved in more traffic accidents than the group of people consuming little caffeine. According to The Telegraph, the effects of too much caffeine include difficulty making decisions and decreased concentration resulting from “neurological symptoms such as anxiety, dizziness and headaches”, tremors caused by excessive stimulation of the central nervous system, and slowed reactions.
The high caffeine consuming group also had worse overall health than the low caffeine consuming group. They smoked and drank more alcohol, exercised less, had a poorer diet, slept less, felt more sleepy during the day and were “more likely to engage in risky and aggressive driving.”
It is essential to note that this study is purely observational and it may be the case that there is some underlying cause that makes the high caffeine consuming group also prone to other unhealthy behaviors, and therefore it is not the amount of caffeine that causes the negative effects. Still, it’s a sheltered bet to employ caffeine only as a short-term solution to fatigue, rather than as a constant strategy. How about taking a nap with some coffee?
