Key takeaways:
Coffee jitters happen when you consume more caffeine than your body needs or wants.
Symptoms of coffee jitters include shaky hands, a racing heart, dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath.
To get rid of coffee jitters, try drinking water, going for a walk, taking deep breaths, and eating some food. When all else fails, wait it out and rest assured that symptoms will pass with time.
If you’re like most adults in the U.S., a cup of coffee is part of your daily routine. But too much coffee can leave you feeling jittery, anxious, or even dizzy — signs that your body has had excess caffeine. The good news? There are simple, safe ways to calm the buzz and get back to feeling balanced.
Here, we’ll review what causes coffee jitters and share practical tips for getting rid of them.
What are coffee (caffeine) jitters?
Coffee jitters describe the shaky, restless feeling you might have after drinking coffee. It’s your body’s way of saying you’ve had more caffeine than it’s comfortable with. Symptoms of coffee jitters include:
Racing heart
Anxiety
Sweating
Nausea
Shaky hands
Dizziness
Shortness of breath
What causes coffee jitters?
Coffee jitters are caused by caffeine, a natural stimulant found in coffee beans, tea leaves, and even chocolate.
Caffeine works on your central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord — to make you feel more alert and energized. When you drink coffee, here’s what caffeine does:
It blocks adenosine, a brain chemical that makes you feel tired. This helps you stay awake, but it also causes your blood vessels to tighten (vasoconstriction).
It triggers the release of catecholamines, stress hormones like adrenaline and norepinephrine. And this raises your heart rate and blood pressure.
It boosts dopamine, a chemical in the brain that affects pleasure. This can make you feel good and energized. But in high doses it can make you feel a bit wired.
So, if you consume more caffeine than your body needs or wants, you might end up shaky after coffee.
How to get rid of coffee jitters
Your body will eventually metabolize the caffeine on its own, and your nervous system will calm down. But there are a few things you can do to help the process along.
1. Drink water
After you drink coffee, your liver breaks down caffeine into other compounds that can still act like caffeine in your body. Your kidneys flush out these compounds through urine. Drinking plenty of water supports this process, and this may help the caffeine and its compounds exit your body a little faster. Hydration can also ease some symptoms of coffee jitters, like shaky hands or nausea.
Coffee’s many health benefits: Coffee may be your “vice,” but it also happens to be a great source of antioxidants that can help protect you from short- and long-term health conditions.
How much water should you drink a day? Needs vary from person to person, depending on factors such as your weight, activity level, and health conditions.
Does coffee dehydrate you? The caffeine in coffee has diuretic effects, meaning it makes you pee more. But these effects are too mild to cause dehydration.
2. Take a walk
Light exercise, like taking a walk, can help your body manage the jittery feelings caused by the extra adrenaline. And exercising can boost your mood and lower your stress levels — which can also counter the effects of coffee jitters.
3. Eat a balanced meal
When you drink coffee on an empty stomach, the caffeine is absorbed more quickly and it reaches higher levels in your blood. Eating some food with coffee can slow down caffeine absorption and smooth out its effects. So try having a snack or meal with fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Examples are:
Whole-grain toast with nut butter
Greek yogurt with fruit
Veggie sticks dipped in cottage cheese
4. Take a breath
Deep breathing can help calm your body when you’re feeling anxious and shaky (or anytime). Slow, deep breathing activates your parasympathetic system, which helps you feel relaxed and calm. This response counteracts the fight or flight response by lowering your heart rate, and slowing your breathing.
Try breathing exercises like 4-7-8 breathing:
Breathe in for 4 seconds.
Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
Then exhale for 8 seconds.
5. Wait it out
Caffeine’s effects can last several hours, but they usually peak within an hour. Your body will gradually break down the caffeine, so your symptoms should improve as your caffeine levels drop. In the meantime, avoid having more:
Coffee
Tea
Energy drinks
Chocolate
How to prevent coffee jitters
To prevent coffee jitters:
Know your caffeine limit: The FDA considers 400 mg of caffeine a safe amount for healthy adults to consume each day. This is 2 to 4 cups of coffee, depending on the type and size. But caffeine affects everyone differently, so some people may feel side effects with less.
Avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach: Having food along with your coffee slows caffeine absorption and makes side effects less likely. A light snack before, during, or even after can help reduce coffee jitters.
Spread out your caffeine intake: Instead of chugging 2 cups of coffee in a sitting, sip smaller amounts over a few hours.
Watch for hidden caffeine: It’s not just coffee that has caffeine. Energy drinks, soda, chocolate, and even certain pain relievers contain caffeine too.
Be cautious with other stimulants: Combining caffeine with certain medications can increase side effects like rapid heartbeat and anxiety. An example is ADHD medications.
Get good sleep: Lack of sleep can affect your health in a number of ways, including by increasing stress and anxiety. These things may make you more sensitive to the effects of caffeine.
Frequently asked questions
It’s possible to overdose on caffeine, but it’s rare. Symptoms of caffeine toxicity include:
Irregular heartbeat
Vomiting
Confusion
Muscle weakness
Seizures
It’s uncommon to reach dangerous levels of caffeine from coffee alone. However, doses of around 1 g or more can cause serious effects. Consuming 3 g or more may be fatal. This is more than 7 times the FDA’s suggested daily caffeine limit of 400 mg. Get medical care if you think you’re having symptoms of a caffeine overdose.
Yes, certain foods can reduce coffee jitters by slowing down caffeine’s absorption into the bloodstream. The best snacks or meals to eat are those that provide a combination of protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates. To get all three nutrients, try a snack like apples and nut butter, or whole grain crackers and cheese.
Having coffee jitters occasionally isn’t dangerous, and the effects should pass within a few hours. But if you get coffee jitters on a regular basis, it could lead to symptoms of anxiety, trouble sleeping, and problems with digestion. These are all signs that you should cut back.
It’s possible to overdose on caffeine, but it’s rare. Symptoms of caffeine toxicity include:
Irregular heartbeat
Vomiting
Confusion
Muscle weakness
Seizures
It’s uncommon to reach dangerous levels of caffeine from coffee alone. However, doses of around 1 g or more can cause serious effects. Consuming 3 g or more may be fatal. This is more than 7 times the FDA’s suggested daily caffeine limit of 400 mg. Get medical care if you think you’re having symptoms of a caffeine overdose.
Yes, certain foods can reduce coffee jitters by slowing down caffeine’s absorption into the bloodstream. The best snacks or meals to eat are those that provide a combination of protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates. To get all three nutrients, try a snack like apples and nut butter, or whole grain crackers and cheese.
Having coffee jitters occasionally isn’t dangerous, and the effects should pass within a few hours. But if you get coffee jitters on a regular basis, it could lead to symptoms of anxiety, trouble sleeping, and problems with digestion. These are all signs that you should cut back.
The bottom line
The jolt of energy you get from drinking a cup of coffee can feel great — until it tips into those shaky, anxious symptoms known as coffee jitters. If that happens, it may help to drink some water and/or eat a snack. You can also take a short walk or focus on deep breathing. Most importantly, remember that the coffee jitters will gradually pass as your body processes the caffeine. Pay attention to what triggers your symptoms, so you can enjoy your coffee — without the jitters — next time.
Why trust our experts?
References
Basso, J. C., et al. (2018). The effects of acute exercise on mood, cognition, neurophysiology, and neurochemical pathways: A review. Brain Plasticity.
Bhardwaj, I., et al. (2024). Chapter three - Molecular targets of caffeine in the central nervous system. Progress in Brain Research.
Echeverri, D., et al. (2010). Caffeine′s vascular mechanisms of action. International Journal of Vascular Medicine.
Fiani, B., et al. (2021). The neurophysiology of caffeine as a central nervous system stimulant and the resultant effects on cognitive function. Cureus.
Gonzaga, L. A., et al. (2017). Caffeine affects autonomic control of heart rate and blood pressure recovery after aerobic exercise in young adults: A crossover study. Scientific Reports.
Hopper, S. I., et al. (2018). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: A quantitative systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports.
Petrovic, D., et al. (2016). Relation of 24-hour urinary caffeine and caffeine metabolite excretions with self-reported consumption of coffee and other caffeinated beverages in the general population. Nutrition & Metabolism.
Reddy, V. S., et al. (2024). Pharmacology of caffeine and its effects on the human body. European Journal of Medicinal Chemical Reports.
Tindle, J., et al. (2022). Neuroanatomy, parasympathetic nervous system. StatPearls.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Spilling the beans: How much caffeine is too much?
Willson, C. (2018). The clinical toxicology of caffeine: A review and case study. Toxicology Reports.
