DANVILLE, Pa. — For many of us, it's hard to get through the morning without a cup or two of coffee. Caffeine is something many of us depend on.
But how much caffeine is too much?
Dr. Hans Zuckerman, a primary care physician at Geisinger, says the recommended daily amount is no more than 400 milligrams.
"A cup of coffee you make at your house usually has between 100 and 200 mg of caffeine. Depending on how strong you like your coffee, two to four cups of that a day."
Coffee from places like Starbucks and Dunkin' usually contains more caffeine.
"A lot of their coffee can be over 300 mg just for a medium size. Usually, it's just one from them, and you're done, good for the day," Dr. Zuckerman said.
Caffeine is an addictive substance, and Dr. Zuckerman says many of his patients measure how much they drink in pots of coffee rather than cups. If you consume too much caffeine, you can experience a jittery sensation, anxiety, and insomnia.
"If you have to take medicine to help you sleep at night, you really need to think about why that is. And a big reason we see for that is too much caffeine during the day."
If you want to break the habit, the first step is to taper off.
"There's really not a strong recommendation to either take caffeine, we see some benefits to it. It can be helpful. But we also don't see a lot of benefits to total avoidance of caffeine. It's a personal choice."
Dr. Zuckerman suggests looking up how much caffeine is in something and decreasing your portion by 20%.