Withdrawal Symptoms and Executive Functions After 24-Hour Caffeine Abstinence in Office Workers with Habitual Coffee Consumption
Abstract
Objective: This research aimed to investigate withdrawal symptoms and executive functions (EFs) after 24-hour caffeine abstinence in office workers with habitual coffee consumption.
Material and Methods: Eighteen male office workers (age 32.94±4.14 years, computer use for work 5.33±0.77 h/d, caffeine consumption 225.83±88.80 mg/d) participated in this within-subjects designed experiment. Participants completed the Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms Questionnaire, Trail Making Test (TMT), and Flanker Test after 24-hour caffeine abstinence, preceded by a baseline measure during normal consumption.
Results: The mean score for total caffeine withdrawal symptoms, drowsiness/fatigue, decreased alertness/difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, decreased sociability/motivation to work, flu-like feeling, and headache was greater after caffeine abstinence compared with the baseline normal consumption (all p-values<0.05). The mean value for the TMTB number of errors was also greater after caffeine abstinence than the baseline normal consumption (p-value <0.05).
Conclusion: Acute caffeine abstinence produces withdrawal symptoms and impaired EFs in office workers with habitual coffee consumption, and the occurrence is different among individuals. Based on the earlier evidence and the findings of this research, habitual caffeine consumers should be cautious when abstaining from caffeine in their daily routine, and more occupational research is required to elucidate the impacts of caffeine abstinence among regular coffee consumers.
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