Caffeine and spaced out feeling

Not being a chemist, I went to the following website to get a better detailed description of exactly what caffeine was:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

This is what it had to say:

“Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine that acts as a psychoactive stimulant drug and a mild diuretic (speeds up urine production)[3] in humans and other animals. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819. He coined the term “kaffein”, a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became caffeine.[4] Caffeine is also called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate, and theine when found in tea; all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the cherries of the coffee plant and the leaves of the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut. Other sources include yerba mate, guarana berries, and the Yaupon Holly.

In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most others, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.[5] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a “Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance”.[6] One 2008 study suggested that women consuming 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day had about twice the miscarriage risk as women who had none, while another 2008 study found no link between miscarriage and caffeine consumption.[7] “

Ok, so that’s perhaps more than most of us really care to know about a cup of coffee. In short, it verifies that caffeine is recognized as a drug.

There were two things that I have read about caffeine in the past, however, that this article did not mention:

1). Caffeine has a “reverse effect” on hyperactivity. In other words, if a person is

   normally hyper active, caffeine actually has a "calming effect"... as opposed to 
   "pumping them up" with energy.

2). Some people are “caffeine intollerant”. More or less their body cannot handle

   the effects of caffeine.

I can remember years ago when I first started going to college. At that time they had come out with a new product they called “No-Doze”. It was simply a pill that had a very high caffeine content. It claimed to help you “stay awake and stay alert”.

At that time, a group of us students decided to use the new product to help us stay awake and study for some final exams all night long. As a result, most of us experienced similar reactions to the ones you have described.

Bottom line, it just tured out to be too much caffeine for our bodies that caused the reaction. That I am aware of, no harm seriously ever came out of our little experiment back then. But, most of us, based on the experience that we encountered, never took the product again.

Based directly on what my experiences have been, I rather imagine that the caffeine in the coffee you drink is just simply too strong for your body. If you still want to drink coffee, I might simply suggest that you make a weaker pot of coffee (use less coffee grounds to make the coffee) and you may have better success in managing the situation.

Good Luck!

:-)