My Journey Through Quitting Caffeine and the Benefits
My opinion had always been that it seemed to regulate my energy levels and help me avoid seizures.
However, for various other reasons, I have decided to quit caffeine. For one thing, I believe it might be related to my face and body randomly swelling up when I eat, and with no correlation to what I eat.
Also, if I am late for my caffeine dose at 8:00 am to 8:30 am or so, my day will be ruined with grogginess and headaches, despite having the caffeine late.
I don’t like being tied down like that.
I want to feel the brain clarity on a regular basis that I feel at 7 am, right when I wake up. That moment before the caffeine need hits me.
A month ago I switched from coffee to tea and felt much better.
Quitting Caffeine Cold Turkey
Sunday – I went cold turkey. I was a total bitch all day until 8 pm or so.
No headache, surprisingly, but I did have a simple partial seizure at about 11 am, which I hadn’t had in a long while.
Monday -My coworker actually asked what was wrong when I walked in the door. My face was puffy and my eyes were drooping. I felt “seizurey” (if that’s not a word, it is now) all morning and couldn’t make it through the work day, so I had a cup of coffee at noon with an aspirin. This is when I decided cold turkey is a bad idea.
Quitting Caffeine Gradually
I decided to wean off the coffee by reducing my normal caffeine intake for a couple days first.
Tuesday – I had 1 cup of coffee in the morning (rather than my typical 2). This made me feel a little tired in the afternoon, but otherwise fairly good.
Wednesday – At 7:30 am, a half hour before my regular dose, my face started to puff up a little. I had 3/4 of a cup of coffee at 8:30 am and made it through the rest of the day. A little tired, but no headache or face puffiness.
Thursday – I had no caffiene at all until 6:30 pm when I had a Pepsi at the fair. I realized my mistake about half way through the can and finished it off anyways (when you pay $3 for a can of soda at the fair you can’t waste it). We got home from the fair at 2 am.
Day 1 of quitting caffeine
Friday we slept basically all day. I read intermittently with sleep. My face puffed up and my eyes were watering all day. No caffiene at all. I got up at 5pm.
Day 2 of Quitting Caffeine.
Saturday – I had no caffeine. I felt tired but no headache. My face and eyes were puffed a bit.
Day 3 of Quitting Caffeine
Sunday – I had no caffeine. Less tired. Took a sip of hubbies Pepsi at the theater and went “oops”.
Day 4 of Quitting Caffeine.
Monday – No caffeine all day. My face puffed up considerably right at breakfast time 8:30 am, and even more when I got to work at 930, which is when the headache started. The headache was unaffected by aspirin in the am, or ibuprofen in the pm. Despite the headache, my body and brain seemed to have decent energy levels. Not great, but good enough that I felt I was performing adequately at work.
Day 5 of Quitting Caffeine.
Tuesday – I also had a bad headache. I did not take any pills for it.
Day 6 of Quitting Caffeine
Wednesday – I had minor neck tension, but minimal headache. My brain is starting to clear and I think the grips of the caffeine are starting to release.
Day 7 of Quitting Caffeine
Thursday – The headache started a bit. But my brain does feel clear.
Day 8 and 9
Friday and Saturday, I had minimal headache and the neck tension has cleared. On Friday, I enjoyed my breakfast, an omelette, provided by my employer and noted that my face didn’t swell in the slightest.
On Saturday, we went to a party, and I had some alcohol and made certain to avoid the caffeine. I noticed that I did not experience an “unexplained brain panic” that I usually get when I enjoy a bit of alcohol.
Day 10.
Sunday, I awoke at 9 am and my face felt slightly puffy and my eyes watered significantly. No headache.
I had energy to get some housework done. I had a few eggs, and a glass of water for breakfast, and my face did not puff up at all.
Sunday evening, going to bed I noticed my tiredness felt different. It felt…Real. It’s hard to explain.
Day 11 to 18. Next week. I feel a bit of that need for caffeine in the morning and around noon. I have been able to wake up normally with minimal grogginess.
If I didn’t go to bed on time, I yawn a lot during the day. Yawning was something very rare on caffiene.
I have lost approx 3 pounds.
Day 19 to 26.
I have noticed a surge of energy for no apparent reason. My brain has been quite happy. My appetite seems stable and there has been no excessive or impulse eating all week.
My face did feel puffy on day 22 but I suspect it was due to a high salt meal combined with hot weather and perhaps needed to drink more water.
I had an epiphany on day 23 that my words were coming out better. I could think and say intelligent words without pause. The word I needed was there when I needed it.
All in all, as with most addictions in general, quitting caffeine can be very difficult. It’s very easy to feel terrible after a few days, decide it’s not worth it, and fall off the wagon. It’s like working out for two days, not seeing results, then giving up. I think the biggest hurdle is your mindset. If you truly want to quit your caffeine addiction, you need to mentally prepare yourself ahead of time, knowing the difficult side affects that await you.
Summary of the Benefits of Quitting Caffeine
Caffeine and coffee are some of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. They have become so popular that many people cannot start their day without a cup of joe or an energy drink to give them a boost. Some people even use caffeine to help with mental focus, but what is really going on when you consume these drinks? In this blog post, we will explore the benefits (and risks) of quitting coffee and caffeine.
Quit Caffeine to Improve Sleep
Why do people consume caffeine? Caffeine has been shown to increase feelings of alertness and reduce the time it takes for someone to react after being stimulated by something else (like a loud sound). This is because caffeine blocks neurotransmitters that cause drowsiness and sleepiness.
Coffee also contains an amino acid called tyrosine which helps with mental focus when consumed in moderation; however this can become problematic if one relies on caffeinated drinks too much throughout their day–especially if they are drinking more than three cups per day due to a lack of intake of other nutrients.
If you are a heavy coffee drinker, it’s possible that the caffeine could be affecting your sleep negatively too–so if this is something you want to change for yourself, experiment with different types of tea or sodas and see what works best for you.
Quit Caffeine to Save Money
Quitting caffeine can save you money in a number of ways–such as purchasing less coffee, snacks and sodas.
For instance, if you drink one cup of coffee per day at $0.50 each time (which is the average cost) that’s $30 saved annually!
This doesn’t account for any nutritional or other health benefits either; just think about how much money you could save in your wallet when not drinking caffeine on a regular basis!
Quit Caffeine to Save Time
It also takes up hours out of your day to get accustomed to being without caffeine–so by quitting now, it will free up extra time during the week which can be spent doing more enjoyable activities like reading books or going outside with friends. Imagine all the time wasted waiting in the lineups to buy your coffee. Not to mention one less hassle in the morning.
Potential Physical Harm
People with high blood pressure should be careful when consuming coffee and other caffeinated beverages because it can cause their blood pressure to rise, which could lead to a heart attack or stroke. However, there have been studies where an increase in blood flow was observed after consumption of 200mg of caffeine (the equivalent of two cups). This suggests that moderate doses may actually help someone who has experienced a cardiovascular event recover more quickly due to increased circulation.
Benefits of Caffeine
- There’s anecdotal evidence that people with asthma who are missing their inhaler, can substitute with coffee as a temporary solution. The caffeine “gets things going” so to speak. I can not verify this as a medical professional, please research further independently.
- There are tons of potential health benefits that you can read about here that I don’t necessarily agree with all, but have potential. Most of which fall into that pesky “correlation vs causation” conundrum, so it’s hard to say with certainty.
- Whether good for you or not, it definitely does as advertised. It will perk you up in the morning and keep you going when you need it to.
What are your Experiences with Caffeine? Comment Below
Have you ever tried to quit caffeine? What was your experience? Do you find it’s better to continue on as a regular coffee drinker? I like to hear about other people’s experiences.
