What To Do If You’ve Had Too Much Caffeine

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We’ve all been there. After a seriously rough night with little-to-no sleep, we streamline an extra cup of coffee or two on the way to work, possibly forgetting to eat some breakfast at the same time, and before we know it, we are buzzin’ — and not in a good way.

Being overly caffeinated is one of the most uncomfortable sensations, from the trembling hands to the jittery legs to the brain that just can’t focus no matter how hard you try. But panicking about the extra stimulant in your system will only increase your anxiety levels and make you feel even worse. So when you find yourself overly caffeinated, here’s what you should do.

Take a deep breath.

First things first, focus on your breathing. You’re probably noticing that your heart is racing like crazy, which is already unnerving. So do your best to slow things down manually by controlling your breathing. Take nice, long, deep inhales through your nose (try counting to six slowly) and then take nice, long, deep exhales through your nose. Repeat this controlled breathing for 60 seconds and see how you feel. It won’t force the caffeine out of your body, but the little bit of mind control it provides can make a world of difference.

Grab that water bottle.

Water is your friend when you’re overly caffeinated. It can help to flush the stimulant out of your body slightly faster, and because caffeine is a natural diuretic, you need to take in more water over the course of the day to remain properly hydrated. Yes, you’ll probably have to go to the bathroom a handful of extra times, but that’s an annoying price worth paying to regulate your hydration levels and help your body even things out.

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Eat a balanced meal.

When you give your body something else to metabolize, you can help mitigate those jittery, shaky feelings that come along with having too much caffeine in your system. Reach for a plate with a lean protein, a healthy fat source and a complex carbohydrate option to give your body some balanced nutrition. Caffeine is also notorious for depleting both your magnesium and potassium levels, so snack on food that can give you a healthy boost of these nutrients and counter those negative effects of consuming too much caffeine. Bananas are one of the best picks here, and you can find them pretty much anywhere.

Breathe some more.

You still have to wait out of the half-life of caffeine, which tends to be five or six hours (meaning after six hours, you will still have half the amount of caffeine in your body that you consumed earlier in the day). And since you can’t accelerate time and the way that your body handles this problem, that deep-breathing exercise we initially suggested will continue to come in handy as you wait for the shakes to leave your body and for your mind to stop racing. It’ll also help when you’re officially crashing from the caffeine withdrawal, which probably won’t be the most fun experience, either. Oy…

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