If your fingers tremble and you feel like your skin's on a live wire after drinking one, two, or several cups of coffee — you're likely experiencing coffee jitters.
Although this can be worrying, it's your body's natural reaction to having too much caffeine. Coffee jitters are annoying and worrisome but rarely indicate anything serious.
Jitters will go away on their own after a few minutes, but there are some things you can do to speed them along.
In this guide, we share proven strategies that’ll help calm the shakes and provide tips on how to enjoy your coffee the right way.
What Causes Coffee Jitters?
Coffee jitters are your body’s reaction to caffeine. This stimulating compound activates the stress response in your body by increasing the activity of adrenaline and cortisol [1]. One of the side effects of this is an increased muscle twitch response — which can present in some people as uncontrollable jittering or shaking.
These chemicals are related to increased stress in our body, putting us on high alert for the fight or flight response [2]. When these chemicals are released, our body tense up, prepared to fight or run away.
Common signs of “fight or flight mode” include:
- Increased heart rate.
- Shaking.
- Heart palpitations.
- Increased breathing.
- Nervous energy.
Everybody will experience jitters if they drink enough coffee — but the specific amount varies from one person to the next.
The following factors will make some people more susceptible to jitters than others:
- Sensitivity to caffeine.
- Empty stomach.
- Dehydration.
- Existing stress or anxiety.
5 Quick Remedies to Eliminate Coffee Jitters
There are a few immediate remedies to help you get rid of coffee jitters. They’re designed to calm your central nervous system, so there’s a lot of overlap between these tips and strategies to ease anxiety and stress.
1. Drink More Water
When you've got coffee jitters, hydration is key. Drinking more water helps flush out the caffeine in your bloodstream.
Coffee is a diuretic [3] and makes you pee more. The more water you have, the quicker this process happens, helping you reduce jitters in the process.
2. Move Your Body
Coffee helps improve your metabolism, so when you move your body, you release that excess nervous energy, causing your jitters.
Whether it’s a few jumping jacks or a quick yoga session to calm yourself, moving your body improves circulation and reduces the effects of adrenaline and cortisol on your system.
3. Try Deep Breathing
Some key symptoms of coffee jitters are increased heart rate and breathing. To combat this, try deep breathing exercises.
Box breathing is a popular choice where you inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and then release and breathe out for eight seconds. This helps take control of you heart rate and level out your nervous system — dissolving jitters along with it.
4. Take Ruteocarpine
Ruteocarpine is a supplement you can buy at health food shops or online. It’s derived from the Eucommia plant and is commonly used to deactivate or reduce the effects of caffeine.
If you’re sensitive to caffeine, it may be a good idea to keep some of this stuff around in case the caffeine jitters act up more than you’d like.
5. Eat a Balanced Meal
Before you dive in for that third or fourth cup of coffee, you should make sure that you’ve eaten a balanced meal. Coffee speeds up our metabolism, but healthy food, like proteins, can balance out the caffeine levels in our systems. This will also help prevent jitters from occurring in the first place.
Some magnesium-rich foods have also been linked to stabilizing nerve function, including managing stress hormones like cortisol [5].
Magnesium-rich foods include:
- Avocado
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Fatty fish
- Tofu
Incorporating these foods into your diet can help balance and manage your central nervous system, preventing coffee jitters. There’s still a lot of research into which foods prevent coffee jitters, but by looking at the symptoms and working backward, it seems likely that magnesium-rich foods should help.
How Diet Affects Coffee Jitters
As you might expect, what we eat also plays a hand in whether or not we get coffee jitters. Certain foods make coffee jitters worse, and some foods have been linked to relaxing the nervous system and helping reduce symptoms.
Firstly, if you want to prevent coffee jitters, avoid artificial sweeteners and sugars. These increase the effects of caffeine and vice versa, with caffeine increasing the effects of sugar on our body [4], so much so that one of the long-term side effects of caffeine has been linked to blood sugar issues like diabetes.
When you have too much sugar in the system, you can experience similar highs and nervous system jitters as having too much caffeine. So, when you put them together, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Tips to Prevent Coffee Jitters in the Future
So far, we’ve looked at short-term strategies to avoid coffee jitters, but now let’s look into the future. If you want long-term strategies to avoid coffee jitters, you’ll need to mangage your caffeine intake.
Develop A Routine Around Your Coffee Consumption
Your body — and your nervous system, by extension — likes patterns, habits, and routines. Try to get into the habit of drinking your coffee at the same time each day and drink the same amount. Your body will adapt to your schedule and intake, reducing jitters over time. You should also make sure you’re complementing this with a balanced diet, eating at regular intervals in line with your caffeine intake.
Start A Health Diary
If you find yourself getting jittery more often, consider keeping a diary of your caffeine intake versus your diet and activity level. They all work together when it comes to our central nervous system. This way you can monitor your intake and adjust your levels, depending on your tolerance.
Drink Decaf Instead
Alternatively, you can start working on some low or non-caffeinated drinks that still give you a boost. Mushroom coffee has been taking off thanks to its unique flavor profile and the fact that it has half the caffeine content but still has natural energy-boosting properties.
Swap Coffee For Adaptogens
Another option is to add non-caffeinated but energy-boosting supplements to your diet. Maca powder is an ancient Peruvian powder that improves adrenal function and reduces fatigue [6]. Drinks like kombucha, which improve gut health, have also been linked to reducing fatigue without caffeine [7].
Related: Is Mushroom Coffee Good for You?
When To See a Doctor
Most of the time, coffee jitters are normal and nothing to worry about — but in some rare cases, uncontrollable jitters could be a sign of other conditions.
If your jitters last longer than a couple of hours or occur when you haven’t had any caffeine, it may be time to contact your doctor or a health professional.
Also, if your jitters aren’t accompanied by the usual stress response symptoms of increased heart rate and body temperature, it could be a sign of something else. Try reducing your caffeine intake slowly so you don’t feel the effects of withdrawal too much, and see if that helps matters.
If jitters persist, see your doctor and they’ll be able to tell you if it’s a symptom of a more serious health condition or if you need to cut caffeine out of your diet altogether.
FAQs: Managing Coffee Jitters
Okay, so now we know how to manage our coffee jitters, let’s round things out with a few frequently asked questions.
1. What exactly are coffee jitters?
Coffee jitters are the uneasy, anxious feeling and physical shaking after consuming too much caffeine. It’s a direct reaction from your body’s central nervous system after having too much caffeine. Physiologically, it’s very similar to mild anxiety or panic attacks as it hits the same stress and adrenaline regulators.
2. How long do coffee jitters last?
Typically, coffee jitters can last from a few minutes to several hours, depending on individual caffeine sensitivity and consumption amount. Your diet and how recently you’ve eaten can also impact the length of your coffee jitters.
3. Can drinking water help reduce coffee jitters?
Yes, drinking water and staying hydrated can help flush through caffeine in the bloodstream and alleviate jitters faster. This is because caffeine is water soluble and that’s how it progresses through your body. It’s also because caffeine is a diuretic, making you pee more. So, the more water you drink the faster the caffeine should be out of your system.
4. Are there foods that can help reduce the effects of caffeine?
Yes, some foods can help reduce the effects of caffeine. Foods high in magnesium, like spinach or almonds, can help stabilize nerve function and reduce jitters.
Eating a low-sugar, whole-food snack or meal along with your coffee can also help you avoid the jitters and other side effects.
5. Is it possible to prevent coffee jitters?
Yes, it is possible to prevent coffee jitters. Preventing jitters can be as simple as monitoring your caffeine intake, eating well before drinking coffee, and knowing your caffeine threshold. Ensuring you’ve enjoyed a balanced meal and don’t overdo your caffeine intake for the day can prevent coffee jitters and leave you feeling energized rather than on edge.
6. What are the signs that I should reduce my caffeine intake?
There are a few signs that you should reduce your caffeine intake, including frequent jitters, disrupted sleep patterns, and increased anxiety. If you find coffee jitters occurring for longer or more often, this is also a sign that you need to cut back on your caffeine intake.
7. Can herbal teas help with coffee jitters?
Yes, herbal teas like chamomile can calm the nervous system and reduce jitteriness. Anything that reduces stress on the body is likely to reduce coffee jitters. Peppermint is also a good option as it settles the stomach at the same time.
Related: Caffeine in Coffee, Black Tea, & Green Tea.
8. When should I be concerned about my coffee jitters?
You should be concerned about your coffee jitters if they’re accompanied by severe symptoms, such as chest pain or extreme anxiety. At this point, it's important to consult a doctor.
9. Are there any exercises that can help alleviate coffee jitters?
Yes, there are plenty of exercises that help alleviate coffee jitters. Light exercises such as walking or yoga can help metabolize caffeine faster and calm the nerves. Jitters can often feel like you have a ton of excess energy, so exercises like star jumps can also help you get some of that energy out, tiring your body and allowing your nervous system to reset.
10. How can I enjoy coffee without getting jitters?
You can enjoy coffee without getting jitters by reducing the strength of your coffee, avoiding drinking on an empty stomach, and considering lower-caffeine alternatives. Plenty of people enjoy their coffee without any jittery side effects, and you can do it, too!
References
- Nehlig, A., Daval, J. L., & Debry, G. (1992). Caffeine and the central nervous system: mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic and psychostimulant effects. Brain research. Brain research reviews, 17(2), 139–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0173(92)90012-b
- Dhabhar F. S. (2018). The short-term stress response - Mother nature's mechanism for enhancing protection and performance under conditions of threat, challenge, and opportunity. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 49, 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.004
- Maughan, R. J., & Griffin, J. (2003). Caffeine ingestion and fluid balance: a review. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics: the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 16(6), 411–420. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-277x.2003.00477.x
- Keast, R. S., Swinburn, B. A., Sayompark, D., Whitelock, S., & Riddell, L. J. (2015). Caffeine increases sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in a free-living population: a randomized controlled trial. The British journal of nutrition, 113(2), 366–371. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711451400378X
- Vink, R., & Nechifor, M. (Eds.). (2011). Magnesium in the Central Nervous System. University of Adelaide Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.20851/j.ctt1t3055m
- Meissner, H. O., Mscisz, A., Reich-Bilinska, H., Mrozikiewicz, P., Bobkiewicz-Kozlowska, T., Kedzia, B., Lowicka, A., & Barchia, I. (2006). Hormone-Balancing Effect of Pre-Gelatinized Organic Maca (Lepidium peruvianum Chacon): (III) Clinical responses of early-postmenopausal women to maca in double-blind, randomized, Placebo-controlled, crossover configuration, outpatient study. International journal of biomedical science: IJBS, 2(4), 375–394. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614644/
- Lee, Y. J., Kang, H. J., Yi, S. H., & Jung, Y. H. (2023). Antioxidant Properties of Kombucha Made with Tartary Buckwheat Tea and Burdock Tea. Preventive nutrition and food science, 28(3), 347–352. https://doi.org/10.3746/pnf.2023.28.3.347
