A Simple Way to Find Out If You’re Getting Too Much (or Too Little) Caffeine

We’ve got the only cheat sheet you need to make sure you’re getting the right amount of caffeine for a maximum mental boost.

You want to amp up for your early-morning meeting. That means you need caffeine, almost certainly in its most delicious form: coffee. And good for you. According to some studies, you can fend off disease with coffee, like diabetes and skin cancer.

But how do you give yourself the biggest jolt without the jitters? This calls for the caffeination calculation, listed on the chalkboard above.

If you’re a daily java drinker, your mental processing power will be boosted after you down 400 milligrams in a sitting, according to a new study in the journal Brain Cognition.

To figure out how much coffee, tea, or even 5-Hour Energy that is, divide 400 by the caffeine content in one serving of the beverage. For those mornings when you’re too groggy for simple arithmetic, rub your eyes and refer to our cheat sheet below. (You can even mix and match drinks to hit the magic number.)

Just be sure to time your boost: Caffeine takes 30 to 45 minutes to kick in regardless of its delivery form. However, since it takes longer to wear off—four to six hours to metabolize about half of what you initially ingested—you may need less of it to stay alert in the afternoon. (Get details on how to perfectly time your caffeine intake with this guide to Get More Out of Your Coffee.)

Gulp too much, and you might be brewing up some serious trouble: Side effects include rapid heartbeat, tremors, and upset stomach, according to a University of Maryland Medical Center study. So don’t exceed 600 milligrams. It’ll be hard to ace that meeting from the bathroom.

This article is written by MARK ROBER. Illustrations are by JONATHAN CARLSON.
Source: Men’s Health