 Caffeine, it's everywhere. According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Caffeine Research, caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world. In the United States, more than 90% of adults use it regularly, and among them, average consumption is more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day. More caffeine than is contained in two six ounce cups of coffee or five 12 ounce cans of soft drinks. While many coffee lovers and energy drink drinkers say they reap the benefits of having caffeine, is there a downside to it all? How exactly does caffeine affect your mental health? After all, it's been a much debated topic. So let's take a look at whether caffeine is an overall benefit or risk to your mental health. Number one, should you have caffeine if you have a mood or anxiety disorder or a mental illness? Do you suffer from a mental illness? Do you also drink coffee? You may be wondering how this can affect your mental disorder. After all, caffeine increases heart rate and blood pressure. So what does this do to someone with let's say an anxiety disorder? In a Psychology Today article, the Braun von Brenner Center for Translational Research notes that caffeine can trigger anxiety, especially when drinking more than one cup a day and in people who are more sensitive to coffee's effects. The author notes that it is important to understand there are large differences in how individuals process and react to caffeine. So have you noticed how caffeine affects your disorder symptoms? A study published in the journal Psychiatry Research focused on 43 patients and found that anxiety disorder patients have increased caffeine sensitivity, which leads to decreased consumption. It would seem to make sense that anxiety symptoms could indeed increase with even simply the increase in heart rate and blood pressure caffeine can provide. A 2005 Cambridge study published in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment notes that psychiatrists rarely inquire about caffeine intake when assessing patients. This may lead to a failure to identify caffeine-related problems and offer appropriate interventions. Excessive caffeine ingestion leads to symptoms that overlap with those of many psychiatric disorders. Caffeine is implicated in the exacerbation of anxiety and sleep disorders and people with eating disorders often misuse it too. It antagonizes adenosine receptors, which may potentiate dopaminergenic activity and exacerbate psychosis. In psychiatric inpatients, caffeine has been found to increase anxiety, hostility, and psychotic symptoms. That seems like enough to not want to take another sip of that mocha, right? Well, kind of. There's also research out there that shows differing results, highlighting the benefits of caffeine. An article from NOCD explains that in a small study sponsored by Stanford University, seven of 12 patients with OCD saw immediate improvement on 300 milligrams of coffee daily. The authors suggest that caffeine may work better in one concentrated dose each morning than spaced out throughout the day, and reminds us that caffeine remains a well-known anxiety producer in many people. So, while there are studies that suggest caffeine can be good and bad for your mental health, an important question to keep in mind is, what do you notice it doing to your mental health? Number two, sleep disorders and insomnia. Most people will generally order a cup of coffee to stay awake and get some energy back. So, it makes sense that you'll have trouble falling asleep when you drink a ton of caffeine. That same 2005 study published in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment explains that caffeine reduces slow-wave sleep in the early part of the sleep cycle and can reduce rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, later in the cycle. Caffeine increases episodes of wakefulness and high doses in the late evening can increase the time taken to fall asleep. So, if you consume more caffeine than average, don't be too surprised if you struggle more and more with falling asleep. Number three, mental performance. What about the benefits? There's quite a bit of research out there showing how caffeine can improve mental performance. Very well-mined describes a 2012 study's results and found that caffeine was shown to improve performance on a range of different tasks, including vigilance, response times, information processing, and some, but not all, proofreading tasks. Take it easy though. Don't think this means the more caffeine the better. The study also compared people with a low daily caffeine intake with those who consumed a lot of caffeine each day and found that the improvements are not too significant. So, the more caffeine you consume, the less improvements you'll see. Remember, moderation is key. Number four, caffeine withdrawal. So, what happens if you drink a lot of caffeine each day and then suddenly stop? You may realize you've become dependent on it and experienced caffeine withdrawal syndrome. An article by Stacy Lu published with the American Psychological Association explains that, according to the DSM-5, caffeine withdrawal syndrome occurs when people skip a dose of caffeine and experience headaches, fatigues, depression, and trouble concentrating. She goes on to explain that research suggests many people use caffeine just to avoid these symptoms, so others, especially children and adolescents, may not understand why they feel sluggish and have a raging headache. So while it's nice to get a few cups of coffee each week or drink down those energy drinks, perhaps before a big soccer game, it's important to know what caffeine does to you. Feel great after a sip or two of that mocha? Go ahead and drink a cup or two if you enjoy it. Moderation is key. But if you're not feeling the benefits of caffeine, then maybe it's not worth all the buzz. Did you enjoy this video? If so, make sure to hit the like button, subscribe for more psychology content, and share this video with a coffee lover. Thanks for watching, Psych2Goers. See you next time.