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<p>It&#8217;s a ritual at my annual physical: My doctor asks how many cups of coffee I drink a day.</p><p>Three or four, I say, and she gives me the thumbs down, indicating she disapproves and wants me to reduce my caffeine intake.</p><p>And I am always like, c&#8217;mon! It&#8217;s just coffee! Where&#8217;s the harm? Heck, some studies have found coffee to have beneficial effects, such as lifting your mood, protecting your heart and reducing your risk of diabetes.</p><p>But after doing a little reading &#8212; and experimenting &#8212; I&#8217;m starting to appreciate why she gives me a hard time.</p><p>Last week I wrote about grappling with fractured or deprived sleep and it got me to thinking about the ways I stay caffeinated. We live in a 24/7 culture where constantly being &#8220;on&#8221; has become part of our nature, so we reach for what&#8217;s going to keep us going.</p><p>I&#8217;ve long enjoyed the social nature of coffee and the wakeful buzz it can deliver. I proudly own a refrigerator magnet that says, &#8220;Coffee! You can sleep when you&#8217;re dead!&#8221;</p><p>A reader recommended Death Wish coffee, which bills itself as the &#8220;world&#8217;s strongest coffee.&#8221; To drive home the point, its logo features a skull and crossbones.</p><p>But then I read about Black Insomnia coffee, which also bills itself as the world&#8217;s strongest.</p><p>According to the website <a href="http://www.caffeineinformer.com" target="_blank">caffeineinformer.com</a>, Death Wish has 728 mg of caffeine per 12 fluid ounce cup, a level it labels as dangerous.</p><p>And Black Insomnia? Make it 702 mg, and also dangerous, according to the website.</p><p>The hyper-caffeinated coffee industry has adopted a certain hyperbole to outdo each other. Among the other brand names being promoted: Banned, Shock and Biohazard.</p><p>Typically, I am good for one cup of coffee at home (95 mg), a large Dunkin&#8217; Donuts when I get to work (300 mg) and maybe a Red Bull (80 mg) or another cup of coffee (95 mg).</p><p>To put those numbers in perspective, findings recently published in &#8220;Food and Chemical Toxicology&#8221; backed up current guidelines that recommend no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.</p><p>So my daily average intake of caffeine by coffee is about 500 mg, or 100 more than what is recommended.</p><p>After my work shift changed recently, forcing me to wake up at 3 a.m. and be on the road by 4 a.m., I decided to try Death Wish and Black Insomnia &#8212; not together, I hasten to add!</p><p>I&#8217;ve had Death Wish coffee about five times. I find it gives me a nice pick-me-up as the first cup of coffee in the day and keeps me cruising for several hours.</p><p>Black Insomnia, though it reportedly has less caffeine, sure does deliver a jolt, but it also took me about five hours to come down to levels of consciousness that felt normal.</p><p>I had this weird low-grade headache and what I can only describe as an out-of-body experience.</p><p>Researchers from the nonprofit foundation International Life Sciences Institute North America wrote that having too much caffeine on a consistent basis can lead to headaches, tremors, hyperventilation, dizziness, anxiety and agitation &#8212; and those are on the &#8220;milder end&#8221; of the spectrum!</p><p>Some deaths related to caffeine consumption have been documented, particularly in those with certain medical conditions.</p><p>The bottom line is, no matter how much you need to stay awake, exercise some level of moderation in your caffeine intake.</p><p>Otherwise, you might risk damaging your body. Or worse, you can, as the refrigerator magnet says, sleep when you&#8217;re dead.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_mele-1.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Research into caffeine consumption recommends no more than 400 mg in a day. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_2878022071_4fd6b59f09_o.jpg</photo1><caption1>Research into caffeine consumption recommends no more than 400 mg in a day. </caption1><photoCredit1>Flickr image </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Christopher Mele</p><p>Mele&#8217;s Musings</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Christopher Mele is married and dad of two sons and two stepchildren. His childhood in the Bronx defined his friendships, which endure today. A career newsman, writer and editor, the Lords Valley resident is glad to share stories and insights about the challenges that the modern-day middle-aged guy faces. Reach Chris at seaosprey22@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mele’s Musings: An important wake-up call about over-consumption of caffeine