Have you ever woken up in the morning with an instant craving for chai? If you have, then you are not the only one feeling it. Tea is one of the most important brews which is a requisite for boosting energy and upliftment of your moods.

Tea originates from the Camellia sinensis plant which abounds a plethora of health benefits which pumps your body to fight against certain diseases. Be that as it may, it is strongly believed that tea has some complex compounds which lead to addiction issues causing more harm than good.

What are the Causes of Tea Addiction

As it is a well-established fact, that tea contains caffeine which causes an immediate response in your body. Caffeine is easily absorbed by your body and acts as a stimulant to your brain, releasing excess amounts of ‘feel good’ hormones such as dopamine and endorphins.    

More often than not, any food product containing caffeine results in addictive symptoms inside the body of an individual. That’s because the structure of caffeine is similar to adenosine, which is a naturally produced compound in your body. When your body is providing caffeine externally, naturally your system does not produce any. Therefore, this external stimulus prevents your brain from sending signals that your body is tired.

If your body continues regularly to drink tea, you will want to increase the amounts of tea you take every day in order to feel similar effects of alertness and energy boost. If you stop providing your body with tea abruptly or even if you start reducing it, you may feel certain withdrawal symptoms, whose extent depends upon how much you drink every day. Due to such factors, tea and coffee are considered to be real addictions which culminate into serious addictive problems, almost equivalent to drugs or alcohol. Here are some commonly experienced withdrawal symptoms that are associated with tea addiction.

Withdrawal Symptoms When you are Addicted to Tea

Here are the Withdrawal symptoms you experience when you are addicted to tea

1. Insomnia

Sleeplessness or insomnia is one of the commonly felt withdrawal symptoms when you quit tea abruptly or even reduced it two cups a day from your usual three or four cups.

2. Restlessness

Missing the usual cup of tea you drink in the morning can lead you to become extremely restless, anxious or even irritable. How many times have you snapped at your friends, colleagues or your employees when you were just too late in the morning to grab a cup of tea?

3. Low bowel movement

Not only your moods and your energy level but also your bowel movements are dependent upon your first cup of tea. If your body does not receive the normal amount of tea you drink every day, you may experience mild to severe constipation.

4. Depression

Depressed mood is a severe symptom of withdrawal and a very few people have experienced it. Nonetheless, it is still considered to be a symptom and it is recommended to consult with a therapist if you are experiencing bouts of anxious or depressed moods. Sometimes, dependency on tea and its ensuing withdrawal symptoms are not known unless we experiment with it. In order to check the extent of dependency you have on tea, you can abruptly stop drinking it or significantly reduce the amount to one or two cups of tea a day.

These symptoms are considered to surface within 12 to 24 hours and believed to last for a week or more. If they continue for a month or two, there is some serious underlying issue with your body, which can be best addressed by a therapist. Even if you are not addicted to tea, there are certain important points that you need to keep in mind while drinking the third cup of tea on a stressful day.

Unhealthy Points of Tea

1. Dehydration

Caffeine reduces the absorption abilities of your blood vessels which impedes a balanced fluidity in your body. If you are drinking excessive amounts of tea during a day, you are filling your body with excessive amounts of caffeine. This leaves your body dehydrated. Therefore, it is advisable to stick to two cups of tea a day.

2. Bloating

Even if you drink gallons of water per day, your tea consumption impedes the process of liquid absorption in your body. Therefore, the water stays right there in your stomach, which makes you feel bloated. If you are wondering why daily exercise inclusive of strength training and cardio workouts, is not creating any difference, this is the reason why.

3. Creates Nutrient Deficiency

Not only is liquid absorption hindered in your body, but whatever you eat is also not fully absorbed as your body is constantly dehydrated. It needs liquid to sufficiently take in the nutrients from the food you eat. More often than not, excessive consumption of tea has led to nutrient deficiencies such as iron.

Also Read: Stimulants Present In Tea

4. Anxiety and Depression

As mentioned earlier, tea can take a toll on your mental health if you fail to constantly supply your body with it. Its absence in your body can make you feel more anxious, depressed, restless and even irritable.

How to Avoid Tea Addiction

Following tips may help you reduce your addiction for tea permanently and opt for some caffeine alternatives which will help for your entire life:

1. Reduce Gradually 

If you will stop abruptly, there are chances you might face some severe withdrawal symptoms which will compel you to begin again. To avoid that, just start by reducing gradually. For instance, if you drink 4 cups a day, you can drink 3 cups the next. Continue for a week in a similar manner and the next week drink two cups.  

2. Nap

One of the most effective ways to prevent your body from feeling any severe withdrawal symptoms is sleep. Whenever you feel your caving for tea is skyrocketing, you might want to take a nap for ten to fifteen minutes and wake up refreshed. However, it is essential to nap not more than 30 minutes, otherwise, you will feel more tired and fatigued for the rest of the day.

3. Opt for Caffeine Alternatives 

Whenever you find yourself badly addicted to tea, always look to replace it by other non-caffeinated alternatives, for example, water, in order to stay hydrated. There are some brilliant alternatives for caffeine, such as:

1. Turmeric, ginger ale.
2. Lemon mixed in warm water
3. Herbal Tea
4. Warm milk inclusive of almonds and walnuts.
5. Fruit juices
6. A golden milk latte

Opting one of these alternatives can surely help in curbing your desire for tea. 

Also Read: Sugar Addiction