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Quitting Caffeine

• deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
• zitterbewegung 9y ago
  Started drinking water instead of drinking soda and coffee very often. Never looked back. I may drink a soda once or twice but I really don't miss it at this point. I got into this after using the MyWater app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mywater/id665244736?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mywater/id665244736?mt=8
• SOLAR_FIELDS 9y ago
  One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. I've found that ordering something that has little to no calories or substance goes a long way to alleviate these fears (like tonic or sparkling water). Because something like this still costs money, it helps convince the purchaser that they aren't appearing to be "cheap" by only ordering water. Topo Chico (a sparkling water similar to San Pellegrino) is a favorite among recovering alcoholics in my area.
  • chrishacken 9y ago
    Interesting theory. I think that's just a mental game though; I think of myself as "healthy" when I order water when we're out. Most of my friends are also healthy individuals and will also order water though, so maybe it's dependent on who your "friends" are.
    • dvfjsdhgfv 9y ago
      That's my thought, too. When I order water, it's almost like a declaration of a lifestyle - I choose to be fit, to stay healthy, and not to drink any of the substances that are an obstacle on my way. I guess it's a question of company. If most of your friends order water, you feel a bit guilty ordering something less healthy.
      • jcburke 9y ago
        I think that might be why it bothers people who some people do drink when you order water: they see it as you somehow saying that you're better than them by declaring your health lifestyle
        • mlnhd 9y ago
          No one can make them feel inferior without their consent. They are just projecting their own insecurities.
  • GiorgioG 9y ago
    Just order the most expensive steak on the menu. Problem solved.
  • danhak 9y ago
    Just a heads up that most tonic water is actually loaded with sugar and calories--nearly as much as soda! I was pretty surprised when I'd realized this--G&T's had been my go-to "low-cal" cocktail for quite a while. Ordering a club soda w/ lemon or lime however is a great move when avoiding alcohol in a social setting.
    • zitterbewegung 9y ago
      Avoiding alcohol is easy as long as no one pushes you to drink every five minutes when you obviously want to only drinking water. Drinking culture is extremely annoying.
    • ehutch79 9y ago
      You don't actually drink your decoy drink. You just hold it and maybe sip a tiny bit to make it look like you're drinking so people leave you alone.
      • paulsutter 9y ago
        A friend of mine adds salt to his glass of wine, to ensure that his decoy drink lasts a very long time.
    • aaachilless 9y ago
      I'm not sure if you meant to imply the contrary, but club soda isn't the same as tonic water--club soda doesn't have sugar added. So if you're yet to find a replacement for your gin and tonics, you could try out vodka sodas :)
  • wastedhours 9y ago
    The non-alcoholic "evening out" drinks market is actually one of the fastest growing at the moment. Even to the extent that Diageo's investment arm recently ran a competition to find the best up and coming non-alc drinks.
  • derekp7 9y ago
    I order water with my meals, because I want to taste the food. About the only food that is good with a soda (or beer) is pizza.
    • bdamm 9y ago
      And only low-quality pizza at that.
    • matwood 9y ago
      > I order water with my meals, because I want to taste the food. A lot of food tastes are enhanced with alcohol like wine.
    • donpdonp 9y ago
      same here, mostly because its a easy way to cut out a significant source of sugar.
    • tigershark 9y ago
      I can't imagine what kind of food you like to eat then. The food-wine (or beer) pairing is an integral part of a lot of cuisines. But I can understand that it may be a very alien concept if you like to eat Mac Donald burgers or American pizzas.
      • derekp7 9y ago
        I can understand wine or beer -- I was mostly referring to water instead of a sugary soda. But pairing an appropriate wine with seafood or a good steak does enhance the experience. However, in my case, my schedule (and budget, and family factors) keep me from restaurants, except for an occasional lunch out at work. And then alcohol is verboten if I'm going back to work afterwards.
  • koolba 9y ago
    Pro tip: Club soda with a lime looks just like a vodka soda. Works great when you're trying to keep a clear head at a party full of heavy drinkers too. Just make sure to take slow sips so that people don't catch you with an empty glass.
    • stepvhen 9y ago
      Club soda with anything, syrups, bitters, citrus, is the secret for a happier sober life. not to mention is usually free in bars. (bitters are technically alcoholic, so that is a personal choice)
      • mmmpop 9y ago
        Will seriously give this a shot! Thanks for the tip.
        • eyan 9y ago
          I see what you did there. :)
        • seanp2k2 9y ago
          Ginger beer (as in fancy ginger ale) + lime juice + bitters, well-iced, is quite tasty. It's a Moscow mule without the vodka. You can mess with adding tonic water if you miss the vodka taste. A splash of Luxardo syrup, cherry juice, blueberry purée, of any number of other little flourishes (lychee is notably great, tumeric is interesting) can make it extra special. I drink occasionally but I also enjoy these NA concoctions. It helps that I don't have friends who make it weird for anyone to not drink alcohol when we're out or at parties.
          • Myrmornis 9y ago
            Bitters (e.g. Angostura) is typically alcoholic though isn't it?
            • brianwawok 9y ago
  • pdog 9y ago
    > One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. That stigma is entirely self-perception. No one cares or even notices what anyone else drinking.
    • jessriedel 9y ago
      This is definitely false. I've had multiple women tell me the dominant thing they noticed on a first date was that I didn't order a drink. Likewise, many people can attest that the social encouragement to get everyone drinking in group situations is very explicit. Shared consumption of intoxicating substances is closely monitored by everyone in the group, and is not same thing as the true fact that no one cares whether you have a brown or black belt.
      • exhilaration 9y ago
        I overheard one of my male co-workers telling a female co-worker that he doesn't drink. Her reaction was a literal "eww". That's when I learned that - much like smokers - drinkers were a tribe.
        • seanp2k2 9y ago
          Were? Smoking isn't very cool anymore, but drinking is still pretty cool. It's losing popularity in some circles, but in pop culture, rappers are still in the club ordering bottles, and not of Voss. Weed has a big chance to shake up the alcohol industry, because you can smoke like a Cummins 12-valve until you pass out, then feel fine the next morning. You also don't die if you have too much to smoke. It does have to do some work to get out of the goofy / high schooler / college bro image, but I think they can make it classy (esp stuff like vape pens...the whole blow torch + dabber + water pipe thing has pretty limited appeal because it's too involved and conspicuous). Coming soon to a state near you.
          • dagw 9y ago
  • xorbyte 9y ago
    Not all tonic water is low cal, a 350 mL bottle can be 100 calories from the 30g of sugar added.
  • wutbrodo 9y ago
    > One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals Wow this is insane. The culture I grew up in is famously health-friendly, so I've never come across this, but it sounds horrible. I started drinking only water around high school, and the only reaction I ever got was "good for you, I wish I had that habit". > Because something like this still costs money, it helps convince the purchaser that they aren't appearing to be "cheap" by only ordering water. Interesting, you think that appearing cheap is behind the stigma? I would've guessed it would be something along the lines of anticipated reproach.
    • jcburke 9y ago
      Ya, I think it's more that people assume that if you choose not to drink, you look down on people who do drink, and especially in one-on-one settings that makes them feel uncomfortable drinking around you
      • maccard 9y ago
        Reading the comments in this thread, can you blame people?
      • wutbrodo 9y ago
        Ah yes, the concept of "anticipated reproach", where seeing someone do something that you deep down know you should do triggers a defense mechanism that makes you dislike them. It's pretty easy to spot in people, and I go out of my way to avoid people that are that morally and intellectually stunted, so that may contribute to me seeing less of this reaction.
  • pwenzel 9y ago
    On the alcoholic drinks front: In Minneapolis there are a number of places where you can buy kombucha on tap, even getting a growler to take home. Lately I've been drinking a glass of that in the evening instead of my standard beer. It seriously makes a difference in my overall well being, especially now that I'm in my 30s and really feel the toll on my body when I drink.
  • dalacv 9y ago
    no-calorie tonic? Hmmm.
    • dagw 9y ago
      It exists, using artificial sweetener instead like diet soda.
  • stevewillows 9y ago
    I quit alcohol a few years ago. I wasn't an alcoholic or anything of the sort --- I just decided to stop. For social things along the lines of house parties, I'll bring my own cup. I bought a set of vintage tupperware cups, and, to my surprise, they're always a hit. Its silly, but it helps. I don't make a show of drinking water, and most people assume the cup is filled with beer. When people do ask what I'm drinking, and I tell them that its just water, my assumption is that their assumption is that I was / am an alcoholic... sometimes I let it slide, other times I will clarify. Over these past few years I've moved away from everything but one cup of coffee per day, and about 2 - 3 litres of water. Regarding the stigma, it may be a regional thing (Vancouver), but most people don't care about what I order at a restaurant or drink at a social function. The strangest look I'll get is when I order room temperature tap water... but that's understandable :) Since moving away from everything else, I've found that I rarely crave sugar --- and when I do, everything is far too sweet for me. I used to have a notorious sweet-tooth, but moving away has cured me of that. I also can't handle fizzy things anymore, which was also surprising.
    • Kluny 9y ago
      > Regarding the stigma, it may be a regional thing (Vancouver), but most people don't care about what I order at a restaurant or drink at a social function. The strangest look I'll get is when I order room temperature tap water... but that's understandable :) I think you might be right about that (Victorian here). No one ever cared what I was drinking in Victoria. Now that I'm in Europe it seems like people drink soda, beer or wine with every meal, even at home and they get weird when I ask for water. Like, they'll try to push soda or beer on me to the point where it gets uncomfortable if I say no. I'm still trying to figure a way to navigate around this, even as I slowly become acclimatized to drinking way more sugar and alcohol than I'm happy with.
      • stevewillows 9y ago
        Where you are, is the tap water any good? I often wonder if that is a major contributing factor.
        • 9y ago
  • bariswheel 9y ago
    Topo Chico is the bees knees.
  • JohnBooty 9y ago
    On behalf of drinkers, I apologize for the that a lot of drinkers act this way. Personally I really don't care what anybody else consumes and I certainly don't look down on people for not drinking. People have lots of good reasons to abstain from drinking, and zero of those reasons are my business (unless they want to share)
    • 52-6F-62 9y ago
      I agree here. -- I actually drink beer quite regularly, and whiskey when I am more in the mood (and in the money). (see: Canadian) That said I rarely drink when I'm out with coworker, or I'll limit myself to a beer or two. I've never seen a real hard time from anybody, but I'm also a stubborn person when I feel the need to be. I wouldn't dream of giving anybody a hard time about not drinking and certainly would never look down on anybody for not partaking. I think my only hope is that this view is reciprocated. I've found drinkers can just as often be condescended to for the indulgence -- and unless one really cuts loose and acts like an idiot, I think it's unwarranted and in poor taste... that it can be seen as an act of lower intelligence, or whatever you want.
  • bb611 9y ago
    I think your perception is stronger than the actual social effect - people who object to others not drinking are loud, but in my experience very much the minority.
• maxxxxx 9y ago
  The good thing about going off caffeine is that it works well when you have some from time. For example, when I have a long drive ahead of me I get some Starbucks. I am so sensitive to caffeine now that it keeps me awake the whole drive (and a few hours more unfortunately).
  • amelius 9y ago
    For staying awake I can also recommend ice cream OR chewing gum. edit: not at the same time
    • knodi123 9y ago
      at the same time?!?
    • nkkollaw 9y ago
      Why
    • tunetine 9y ago
      Mmm, my favorite flavor.
    • blatherard 9y ago
      My favorite ice cream flavor as a child was Pink Bubblegum at Baskin Robbins: https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en/products/icecream/flavors/pink_bubblegum.html https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en/produ...
      • wiredfool 9y ago
        Holy crap I hated that flavor when it was in. (former BR scooper. It got _everywhere_)
• lasermike026 9y ago
  Aaaaaaaaah! <breath> Aaaaaaaaah!
• Blinks- 9y ago
  One of the things that always gets to me when I try to stop drinking coffee/tea is that I end up feeling tired all day and then can't get to sleep at night. Apparently sleeplessness is a side effect of caffeine withdrawal, it's almost comical. Then again I have never tried slowly reducing my intake over a month, might be worth a try.
  • chrishacken 9y ago
    I've found that going cold-turkey is actually way easier than trying to ween yourself off of it. Reducing my intake only makes me want it more and more because I already have a little bit of it in my system. While going cold-turkey sucks for a 2-3 days, after you're off of it you have almost no urge what-so-ever to drink it.
    • jhayward 9y ago
      Going cold turkey while increasing physical activity for a week or two is super effective at resetting my sleep patterns and daytime energy levels.
    • spraak 9y ago
      Thanks for relating that. I had just decided today that I'd quit, so it's perfect timing to start tomorrow.
• emilecantin 9y ago
  I drink coffee because I enjoy it, not to give me a "boost" in the morning. I limit myself to 1 large mug per day, with the (very) occasional afternoon cup. I don't notice any difference between my energy levels before / after my morning coffee, nor on days I skip it. I get a headache in the early afternoon when I skip it, though, so I'm definitely addicted. I wonder if the author's energy level issues were due to his "ever-increasing consumption".
  • reducesuffering 9y ago
    I also feel an oncoming headache and dreariness at 3-4pm like clockwork if I hadn't had caffeine.
    • saiya-jin 9y ago
      do you have low blood pressure? in any case, exercise would help you with that
  • mtkd 9y ago
    I stopped drinking it for a year just to see what difference it made - it felt like more even energy over the day, but mornings lost something - so I have two strong cups very early now and no caffeine after 9am - except maybe tea Some of the energy thing is related to dehydration I suspect - if I drink more water over the day it has same effect as stopping coffee
    • akira2501 9y ago
      > Some of the energy thing is related to dehydration I suspect - if I drink more water over the day it has same effect as stopping coffee For me, that was the majority of it. I've settled on a 1:1 ratio. Drink a cup of coffee, then a full cup of water before I have another coffee.
      • chiefalchemist 9y ago
        When I wake up I pour 12oz of water into the electric kettle. I use a French press. And I chug 12 oz+ of water. Lack of hydrating is probably my worst bad habit.
• nfriedly 9y ago
  I consume caffeine pretty rarely, so when I do, it has a nice kick! In the morning, I usually eat some fruit to help me wake up. I generally just drink water throughout the day.
• tekromancr 9y ago
  I have a lot of problems trying to quit caffeine. Ever since I was a young child, they gave me really powerful amphetamines to get me to focus. Then when I turned 18 it became much more difficult to obtain. In the US, Ritalin/dexadrine/adderall are all class II controlled substances with similar restrictions to cocaine or fentynal, so in order to get it I would need to have a doctor's appointment every month, which wasn't only inconvenient but super expensive once I lost my mom's insurance. So, dipshit that I am, I replaced it with megadoses of caffeine. At my peak, I was consuming 1g (yes, gram) of the stuff every day in the form of energy drinks. I am now down to 280-560mg per day on average. I have tried not drinking any, but the inability to focus and headaches mean that trying to cutback seriously puts my job at risk. I really wish I could just get back on ritalin or something so that I can give my poor heart a rest, but I am afraid to walk into a doctors office after not going for years and asking for drugs.
  • deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  • nkkollaw 9y ago
    Jesus, that's like 10 espressos! I'm at >= 5. Pretty bad. I also feels like caffeine doesn't have much effect anymore. Any way to make quitting easier?
    • bitJericho 9y ago
      No need to quit if you don't want to. Just drink less. Mix your coffee with decaf.
      • nkkollaw 9y ago
        I kind of want to, because at this point I _have to_ drink it to function, but it doesn't really wake me up. I would say that when I'm down of caffeine I'm more tired that I should, but not that I'm more awake when I drink it.
    • bduerst 9y ago
      I quit for a while by switching to black tea. Lots and lots of the stuff, and working down from there.
• whipoodle 9y ago
  It has always been interesting to me that (at least in America) this particular drug dependence is something we joke lightly about ("don't talk to me before I've had my coffee"). And of course it's much less serious than other forms of dependence, but it still seems not particularly good to me. I try to refrain from having caffeine often so that it still has an effect when I drink a coffee.
  • revelation 9y ago
    Why does caffeine "dependence" concern you? It's extremely harmless and for the vast majority of the population the sole remaining effect is that of a very slight laxative. Frankly, people drinking coffee over sugary beverages is a public health win.
    • jrs95 9y ago
      And since most people are constipated, even that's probably a good thing!
    • spraak 9y ago
      If you're curious about an in depth answer to why it is concerning, check out Andrew Weil's Marriage of the Sun and the Moon.
    • Double_a_92 9y ago
      > effect is that of a very slight laxative That's why I had to stop. Over time the effect bacame "non-slight". That wasn't convenient for my 1h commute...
    • chris_7 9y ago
      How many people are actually drinking black coffee instead of some Starbucks ~1000kcal... thing?
• brightball 9y ago
  I've quit caffeine on a few occasions for long stretches. Most recently I just reduced consumption to a couple of cups of coffee in the mornings and that was it (a little creamer, no sugar/honey). That worked really well for 2 years. Then we got a puppy and I haven't slept well in 4 weeks. Typing this as I consume a Diet Dr. Pepper.
  • scarlac 9y ago
    A replacement product may help. Try replacing it with something less potent like tea and see where you can go from there.
• bdamm 9y ago
  When I quit smoking I wore nicotine patches for months. They were actually quite pleasant, providing a nice memory and creativity boost. It's now been a few years without cigarettes or patches, but I'm missing the warm stimulation and considering taking up just the patches.
  • newman8r 9y ago
    nicotine gum is hacker gum. mix it with some betel nuts for an extra kick and a very odd texture.
• neofrommatrix 9y ago
  Has anyone tried the Caffeine + L-Theanine pills?
  • jrs95 9y ago
    No, but certain teas have rather high amount or caffeine in addition to L-Theanine. Especially mate. Sadly the only place I knew of near me to get that was Teavana, and they're all closing...
    • swah 9y ago
      I wonder how much caffeine one is really consuming with argentinian-style mate (https://thony.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/chimarr%C3%A3o.jpg https://thony.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/chimarr...) since one is only pouring more water on the same amount of leaves. (When you make coffee you get new coffee beans and drink all of it. Tea is different, mechanically.. ?
  • edsouza 9y ago
    I have been doing that since last November, saved a lot of money from buying coffee without all the side affects of having coffee. My focus is the same or more than having coffee daily. Lookup nootropics, there's a reddit forum for it. I take a combination of caffeine, l-theanine, bacopa, and magnesium in the morning, and one caffeine pill in the afternoon. I'm in Canada, you can get caffeine pills cheap: 100x 200mg pills for <$10. Visit your local fitness health store, and asked them for stuff for focus. I am sure they can help you.
  • nnd 9y ago
    I've tried it for a couple of weeks in different ratios: 1/1, 1/2 and 1/4 if I recall correctly, also with different types of L-Theanine. Didn't notice any effects.
  • cylinder 9y ago
    NALT works on my caffeine jitters better than theanine
• guiomie 9y ago
  I've been off coffee for 1 month now. I've drank one or 2 decaff cortado or americanos because I like the taste of coffee, but I feel like decaf doesn't taste as good. I was a good week with intense headaches, it was scary. I used to drink 1 or 2 a day, nothing more. As for the link, it doesn't work ... hackernews DoS induced?
  • jemfinch 9y ago
    > I feel like decaf doesn't taste as good Decaf doesn't taste as good, at least in the US. The American public won't tolerate a higher cost for decaf than ordinary coffee, so roasters pay for the decaffeination process by purchasing lower quality beans.
  • roceasta 9y ago
    Btw to eliminate withdrawal headaches one only needs a small amount of caffeine. I've taken one caffeine pill per day for about a week (~100mg daily depending on brand which is less than one cup of coffee equivalent).
    • guiomie 9y ago
      Well, the headaches were annoying, but it seems so much simpler to just go cold turkey.
• pier25 9y ago
  Once I stopped drinking coffee for a couple of days before an Ayahuasca session. The headaches were terrible. I rarely drink anything other than a doppio in the morning, but I simply can't start my day without it.
• jrs95 9y ago
  I've been wanting to do this, but I think I'll probably have to take 2 weeks of PTO to do that, unfortunately. At least it's a relatively benign addiction, I suppose.
  • peteretep 9y ago
    The few times I've quit, I switched to decaf and caffeine pills, and then slowly reduced the amount of caffeine from pills. No side-effects from this approach. Cold turkey almost killed me.
• kc10 9y ago
  I only started drinking coffee two years ago. First it was once or twice a week, then it became everyday. About 6 months ago I started having slight muscle tremors, my doctor said it could be because of stress. I didn't tell him I started having too much coffee (nor he asked me). But the tremors kind of increased slowly. I read on HN about some guy who had similar problem with caffeine shots. It then struck them that coffee could be the problem. Now I rarely drink coffee and tremors are also gone.
  • charsifood 9y ago
    Caffeine increases excretion of calcium and magnesium [1]. This is why some caffeine pills are pressed with ~75mg calcium. Muscle tremors could be a sign of magnesium and/or calcium deficiency, so it's likely that you were losing too many minerals and not making up for it in your diet. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7836625 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7836625
• dom96 9y ago
  I personally never drink coffee. I do however drink tea and other drinks with caffeine in them (mostly Coca Cola). But I do wonder how much of a perceptible difference drinking coffee makes. I'm also curious whether you get a tolerance, so that heavy drinkers need to drink more to recover the same amount of energy. Can anyone give their experience?
  • wutbrodo 9y ago
    > I'm also curious whether you get a tolerance, so that heavy drinkers need to drink more to recover the same amount of energy. Can anyone give their experience? You don't have to go by anecdotes: caffeine is the most popular drug in the world and has been studied fairly heavily. It improves focus and some other cognitive metrics for a short period of regular use, and then your daily hit of caffeine just brings you up to what your baseline used to be.
  • SolaceQuantum 9y ago
    I drink a ton of tea and don't notice an energy boost but I do get a throbbing headache if I don't have some sort of caffeine in the day or so. This only started when I began to drink coffee socially. I'm going to be cutting that out and I hope that will fix things.
  • gpvos 9y ago
    I drink a ton of tea (up to 4 litre a day, no milk or sugar; usually black, sometimes green), but nevertheless when I go a day without, or drink much less of it, I suffer no real side effects and can function adequately. I'm still not sure whether this is healthy for me, though.
• rubber_duck 9y ago
  >There have been many demanding days in the last couple of years where I felt that if I would just give in and allow myself a cup of coffee, I would get more done. Caffeine doesn't do anything for me anymore except stop dependence side effects - been thinking about ditching it and using modafinil on days like these - seems relatively side effect free and easy to get pharma grade stuff.
  • nnd 9y ago
    Modafinil is relatively side effects free? Are there any studies of long-term modafinil use effects?
    • theatraine 9y ago
      With long-term use Stevens–Johnson syndrome is a risk.
      • JohnBooty 9y ago
        I'm not a doctor, but is SJS a long-term risk of *afinil? Or is it the symptom of a drug sensitivity that some people have and some people don't? All the research I did indicated that it was an extremely rare reaction that certain people would have, not that it was a result of long-term use.
• SirensOfTitan 9y ago
  The author had some good reasons, but drug dependence on its own seems like a pretty poor reason to stop drinking caffeine unless you have other symptoms. There exists a great deal of consensus on Coffee's effect on health: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/upshot/more-consensus-on-coffees-benefits-than-you-might-think.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/upshot/more-consensus-on-... ... people tend to build a great deal of psychological dependence on friends and significant others as well. Dependence does not seem a bad thing on its own.
  • 6d6b73 9y ago
    "The total economic impact of the coffee industry in the United States in 2015 was $225.2 billion" [1] So it's not hard to imagine that in our fucked up world at least some of the "research" on coffee is "fake news". [1] http://www.ncausa.org/Industry-Resources/Economic-Impact http://www.ncausa.org/Industry-Resources/Economic-Impact
• nnd 9y ago
  I've been drinking about 1000mg of caffeine a day and developed tolerance to the point where I don't feel any effects anymore. Recently, I tried to quit caffeine for 10 days and didn't feel the need for it, so I'm hardly addicted to it, rather I just enjoy the taste of it. Since I'm completely tolerant, to the effects of caffeine at this point, trying a decaf could be an interesting option. Has anyone researched health implication of drinking decaf?
• TACIXAT 9y ago
  I'm celiac and my symptoms* can best be described as hyper sensitivity to addictive foods. I suspect this is more common than has been studied [1] as my main symptom was daily sinus headaches. The first thing I cut out was gluten. Gluten has been shown to act like an opiate in people with autism. [2] I believe I was going through a short time-scale withdrawal when consuming it regularly. That was the best I ever felt, but I would still get the occasional sinus headache. Having tasted the good life, I was on a mission to feel 100%. The next thing I cut out was caffeine. It was tough. On all my attempts to give things up, I've gone back and forth multiple times. I joke that it's to "confirm" the trigger, but really it's because giving up tasty foods is tough. Each time I go through an initial withdrawal. Bad sinus headache, shaking (nerves), vomiting, stomach problems. It took about a month until my energy levels were back to normal after giving up caffeine. I would usually come home and work on side projects, I just didn't have the energy for a solid month. If it didn't get better I was ready to suffer through the headaches to get my energy back, but it did get better. There is an amazing gluten free restaurant near me, and they have pizza. I was eating pepperoni pizza's pretty regularly (because omg pizza) and still getting headaches. Narrowing it down, only eating their pizza in the day and seeing what happened I was able to identify what it was that was triggering headaches on those days. I brought it up to the owner and he pointed out sodium nitrite as an ingredient in the pepperoni. This is a common ingredient in bacon and BBQ meats, which explained my sinus headaches with those too. Did a few tests and it seemed consistent. There is uncured bacon and pepperoni but it's just a trick. They use celery powder or celery juice to cure it. Celery contains sodium nitrite. This also explains the headaches I get with Old Bay seasoning (contains celery). I feel there is a perfect phrase to describe this, but I can't think of it, so I'll just say I cut down more of the forest I could more easily identify the trees that were giving me sinus headaches. While I had given up caffeine, I was still a total sugar fiend. Caffeine-free root beer, bowls of vanilla ice cream doused in sprinkles. With my limited diet it was pretty easy to identify the causes. Sugar was really rough to give up. I don't know if it was the quantity I was eating, how long I had been eating it, but it was bad. With sodium nitrites I just get a sinus headache when exposed to them. With sugar I get the full symptoms described above. I went back and forth on sugar a few times but the withdrawal symptoms (after giving it up) are what made me finally say this is horrible and I'm never doing it again. The final thing was MSG. I eat a lot of chips, since I can eat potato and corn. I was particularly fond of the Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream ones. But lo' a headache! Reading over the ingredients, monosodium glutamate. I didn't know that was MSG at first, I had to Google each ingredient, but when I found out, it made a lot of sense. Giving this stuff up is difficult. I'm actually incredibly thankful for my hyper-sensitive symptoms as it has gotten me to start eating healthily. It has also made me realize how much addictive stuff is put into foods and how scarcely it is researched. *Celiac symptoms vary wildly, and I can only speak from my own experience. 1. http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/coeliac-disease-sinusitis http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/coeliac-disease-sinusiti... 2. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1517/14728222.6.2.175 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1517/14728222.6.2.175
• mnm1 9y ago
  I only drank coffee regularly for a few months in my life and the past five years I've removed all caffeine (that I'm aware of) from my diet except for special occasions where I need to stay up for safety reasons, usually driving long distances (extremely rare). It definitely helps as I have insomnia. The insomnia did not go away, but I have noticed a huge improvement. When I do have caffeine it wires me up the whole day into the night, even if I drink it in the morning. I have no problems with energy or anything like that and also sometimes do the intermittent fasting the author talks about. All in all, I agree that it's a huge improvement. I'm also not dependent which is a huge plus and it saves money. I think it's definitely worth trying, especially for people that are consuming many cups of coffee throughout the day. Of course, as the author points out, if you are going to try it, make sure you get enough sleep. Focusing on getting enough sleep, I find, is a much better energy boosting technique (for the next day) than caffeine or anything else for that matter.
  • jeffwass 9y ago
    Coincidentally I just decided a few days ago to ditch caffeine for awhile. Last week I had terrible sleep, from 3-5 hours a night. Even though I was exhausted during the day, I still couldn't fall asleep at night. I only drink two cups a day, with sometimes a Coke at lunch. But might be my old age that is making me hypersensitive to caffeine. Back in college I could drink cup after cup and still fall asleep when I was ready. So I'm stopping caffeine for awhile to see how it goes.
    • mnm1 9y ago
      In my experience, sleep definitely gets worse with age. I often can't fall asleep even when exhausted or wake up multiple times sometimes unable to get back to sleep. That's why I put such a premium on it. Sleep decides at least 50 to 75% of how my day will be, maybe more. It's by far the most important bodily function, imo. Exercise is second and can undo many of the effects of bad sleep temporarily, but there's nothing like a good night's sleep. I would not skimp on it. The anti sleep culture that exists is horror and hell to me but to each his own.
• askvictor 9y ago
  I occasionally quit caffeine as a way to recalibrate the tolerance that develops over time. But, within certain limits (my general consumption is 1-2 coffees a day, sometimes 3-4 if super tired or when exercising), there's very few negatives for most people, and quite a number of benefits. Nice explanatory video on the matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg
  • tnecniv 9y ago
    I also find that my tolerance drops very quickly when I quit. When I'm on vacation, I don't drink much coffee because my schedule is different. I find after 2-3 days, I no longer am in withdrawal and when I come back from a 1-2 week break, my tolerance is very low.
• blatherard 9y ago
  I've also been off of caffeine for about two years, for a few reasons (anxiety reduction, desire to be free of chemical dependencies, and especially sleep improvement). It took me about three weeks of depression and lethargy, but was totally worth it. My sleep especially is much-improved, and I'd say that my anxiety levels are generally lower. The main thing is that you need to get enough sleep at night. If you're interested, I found some support on reddit, http://www.reddit.com/r/decaf http://www.reddit.com/r/decaf.
  • spraak 9y ago
    Thank you!
• smegel 9y ago
  Best thing I ever did. For me it was the worst kind of vicious cycle - drink more, sleep worse, drink even more the next day. Although I am sorely tempted every morning when I get a whiff of freshly ground coffee being brewed up.
• dannysu 9y ago
  I've never been on coffee. I only drink water since... forever. It is true that getting coffee is kind of a social situation. But I'm ok just getting a hot chocolate or some other drink when I'm with people. The thing about less ability to compensate lack of sleep. The way I deal with that isn't with sugar or caffeine. I just take naps. If I only got between 3-5 hours of sleep, I might need a 15-min nap but once I get that I'm good to go again.
  • tumdum_ 9y ago
    No everyone works at a place where napping during work is fine :(
  • Raphmedia 9y ago
    I used to live on naps until I couldn't. Now I'm on caffeine daily and miserable. Don't repeat my mistake, keep nappin' !
  • mcculley 9y ago
    I'm the original author. I can't nap, unfortunately. I feel groggy after a nap and it messes up my sleep schedule. I envy those of you who can benefit from a nap. I'll update my post to explain that.
• gfodor 9y ago
  One thing that was striking to me when quitting caffeine (after drinking coffee consistently for years every day) was how after a week or two the feeling you have when waking up is completely different. I had always assumed when you wake up it was normal to feel terrible until the morning coffee. Not so. Off caffeine, a proper nights sleep will have you up and active right away.
  • majormajor 9y ago
    > Off caffeine, a proper nights sleep will have you up and active right away. This is not universally true. I've experienced mornings in four different cases. Chronologically: drinking lots of soda, dropping caffeine and taking Adderall, consuming basically no stimulants for a year or so other than the occasional soda once or twice a month, and drinking black coffee and/or green tea regularly. They've all been universally pretty awful, with still an hour of snooze button needed at most, but caffeine by itself has been the least bad both for mornings (including compared to no stimulant consumption) and in terms of overall side effects. By far the worst regular day-to-day experience is the caffeine+sugar combo, though. If you can tolerate your caffeine without sugar, it can be quite nice. (The worst absolute experience is a cold-turkey dropping of amphetamines for a weekend to reset a growing tolerance. Be prepared to watch a lot of TV, eat a lot of cheetos, and have very little desire or ability for serious thinking.)
    • ljw1001 9y ago
      Assuming you wake with an alarm, the biggest impact on how you feel when you first wake is where you were in your sleep cycle. In deep or REM sleep you will feel lousy.
  • frobozz 9y ago
    Taking a stimulant wthin a short period of waking up can interfere with your natural waking process. That might be why you felt bad. Rather than quitting caffeine entirely, waiting two hours after waking (e.g. when you get to work) may also fix that dependency.
• uptownfunk 9y ago
  I've been off Caffeine for a good two years now and have no plans of going back. Life runs too fast for me on caffeine, yes I can blow through work faster, but when I was on caffeine it would feel like days, weeks, months would go by in the blink of an eye. I wasn't enjoying the moment.. and then I stopped drinking caffeine. Life became more present for me, not slower in the bad sense, but that I was able to relish every moment more, more aware... more conscious of what was going on around me. My fuse also got really short when I was consuming caffeine, I'd get into a lot of fights and arguments, since I've stopped, it's really helped. I still get all my work done and have time to spare, I'm working, going to school and have an infant at home. So life after caffeine is definitely possible.
  • nowherecat 9y ago
    Hm..reading this makes me wonder ... I noticed that life is running extremely fast lately and I am having a hard time being "in the moment" ... and I drink a lot of coffee. I really enjoy everything about coffee from roasting to brewing though, so it would probably be quite hard giving it up. Anyway, thanks for sharing this, I will take a long look at that.
    • eicossa 9y ago
      > really enjoy everything about coffee from roasting to brewing You roast your own beans at home ? How expensive of a setup does that require ?
      • alasdair_ 9y ago
        It's possible to do this with just your home oven, green beans, a tray and a timer.
        • seanp2k2 9y ago
          A cheap (<$100) step up from that is a hot air popcorn popper, and the sky is the limit. Check out http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/12/why-you-shouldnt-roast-coffee-at-home-pros-cons-green-coffee-roasting-kit.html http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/12/why-you-shouldnt-roast... for a quick overview of what you're getting into and some recommended further reading. TL;DR it's not really worth it but can be a fun hobby which can yield good results with practice.
• tapanjk 9y ago
  This article reminds me of what I have been wanting to do for a while, but have not succeeded yet in spite of having tried this a few times. The goal is to prevent large fluctuations in energy and mood. My plan is to: - Quit caffeine - Quit sugar (in all forms e.g. refined sugar, honey, fructose syrup etc.) - Consume alcohol only occasionally - Consume white flour only occasionally - Meditate > I don’t think the ketones are necessary, but it helps me with running while fasted. Our body generates ketones when carbohydrate intake is reduced enough, and it feels great. Perhaps the author's tinnitus may benefit from reduction in carb intake [1]. It is a common misconception to attribute certain benefits to presence of ketones while the actual benefit comes from the absence of sugar metabolism. [1] https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/sugar-metabolism-affects-tinnitus/ https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/sugar-metabolism-aff...
  • Freak_NL 9y ago
    That's quite a list you want to undertake. Most of these seem perfectly attainable, but you might want to cut yourself some slack on the sugar bit. Way too much sugar is added to processed foods of course, and cutting back on that is beneficial for anyone, but sugar can be part of a healthy diet too; it naturally occurs in fruit (would you omit almost all fruits from your diet?) and frankly, our body simply uses it like any other carbohydrates if you don't overeat (which are broken down to sugar to fuel us!). It's fine in moderate quantities, and the occasional treat won't harm you if you eat sensibly.
    • tapanjk 9y ago
      I agree, and want to cut out added sugar. Natural sugar in moderate quantities in fruit and vegetables is ok, but I will avoid foods high in sugar such as honey, potato, corn etc.
    • DiThi 9y ago
      > it naturally occurs in fruit With fiber. The human body has evolved to receive fructose with fiber. When you give it fructose without fiber, it doesn't satiate and it's metabolized in a similar way to alcohol (except for the cognitive effects).
• skrebbel 9y ago
  Quitting caffeine is hard, but I found a workaround: get the flu. If you're like me, when you're sick in bed, the last thing you'll want is coffee. By the end of your flu, you'll also have gotten off caffeine and you'll have ascribed the withdrawal symptoms to the flu. Done! Now go buy some decaf :-)
  • 0xbear 9y ago
    Decaf does contain caffeine though.
    • skrebbel 9y ago
      True, but very little.
      • jeffwass 9y ago
        But you're also putting faith in the person who prepared it that it truly is decaf. I've been burned by getting regular coffees at restaurants and coffee machines when I ordered decaf. I wonder how hard it would be to have a "litmus paper" style test for caffeine.
      • 0xbear 9y ago
        About 15-20% of full strength. Hardly negligible.
        • deleted 9y ago
          [deleted]
        • mcbits 9y ago
          More like 5%, but it's high enough that if you measure your coffee intake in pots/day then there is still enough caffeine for physical effects and dependence.
  • arooaroo 9y ago
    My father quit smoking this way.
• projektir 9y ago
  > A caveat to all of these points: I also now consume very little sugar and alcohol and I meditate regularly. Things like this generally make me wary. Not so much because of them causing side effects that are harder to disentangle, but their adoption indicating that the author is fairly stabilized, which is a giant side effect in itself.
  • throwaway0071 9y ago
    I have a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. When I started getting panic attacks, trembling, palpitations, skin rashes, walking up 5x during the night, feeling exhausted all day, etc, I stopped taking caffeine... And did not change a single other thing. It took me over a month to few "normal" again. First week: headaches, back pain, vomiting, nausea, cramps, etc. Second week: feeling like shit. Had no energy for anything. Third week: a resemblance of being normal again. Fourth week: feeling like I was at 60% of my previous energy levels and thinking "this sucks but if this is the new normal, I can get used to it". Second month: energy levels are back, never feel sleepy again, focus is back completely, etc. I'm even thinking about gym, running, etc. So this is my data point. From 3-4 expressos and of caffeinated sodas to zero.
    • DiThi 9y ago
      Did those expressos and sodas have sugar?
      • throwaway0071 9y ago
        Sodas.. of course? Expressos, no. I didn't stop taking sugar. I only dropped coffee and stopped taking caffeinated sodas... I didn't stop taking sodas.
        • DiThi 9y ago
          Then, if you cut out sugars completely you'll discover a new height of energy. Probably after a few days of withdrawal.
    • 9y ago
• horsecaptin 9y ago
  I seem to have more energy than all my coworkers who drink coffee / tea every day at work. Here is how I do it: - Get as much sleep as I need. Most days I need 8 hours. Some days I need 9. So I plan accordingly. - Lunches that are light on carbs. Large amounts of potato, bread and or rice put me to sleep. On most days I have some sort of a salad for lunch with soup and a small piece of bread. That is all. Plenty of sleep and not overeating. There are other things: a relatively active lifestyle, exercise, walks etc.. but the two items I mentioned above make the greatest difference in-terms of being awake and remaining alert all day for me.
  • taneq 9y ago
    > - Get as much sleep as I need. Most days I need 8 hours. Some days I need 9. So I plan accordingly. If you're getting 8-9 hours a night you don't need coffee. I bet your coworkers who are mainlining the stuff either have small kids, or very active social lives.
    • horsecaptin 9y ago
      You might be right. It seems like everyone else at my office needs coffee all the time.
• costcopizza 9y ago
  I love coffee-- the smell, the ritual, the taste, but even 1 cup turns my anxiety from a normal 2/10 to a 7/10. On top of that I don't even feel more focused or productive from caffeine. Actually I get easily overwhelmed and rather indecisive. My brain is not made for stimulants, as adderall makes me tired. I'm going to try taking theanine with a cup tomorrow, if that doesn't improve things then I'm off caffeine for a long time.
  • grp 9y ago
    Same reasons why I quit coffee 7 years ago. It's not even hard. Coffee is only useful for zombies.
    • swah 9y ago
      I love the taste, and even the most popular drink around here ("mate") has caffeine. So quitting would be hard.
• deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
• vzaliva 9y ago
  The picture of the author at the end of the article was probably taken BEFORE he's given up caffeine :)
• dharma1 9y ago
  It's not a great idea to regularly consume large quantities of what is essentially a natural insecticide. If you're tired, it's a much better idea to have a nap for 20 mins. Wish that was more socially acceptable
  • jackvalentine 9y ago
    Did you know 100% of the people who have consumed h2o in history have died? If you have a specific link between the 'insecticide' and poor health let's hear it - otherwise it's just a ridiculous statement.
    • dharma1 9y ago
      I don't have a direct link to poor health - but sleep performs many functions we are just starting to understand, and feeling tired is usually an indicator that you need sleep. Replacing that with a buzz from an insecticide - and that is the purpose for which plants produce caffeine - on a regular basis doesn't feel like a great idea.
• crehn 9y ago
  As for me, I enjoy drinking coffee and I enjoy drinking alcohol. They're small pleasures of life that contribute to my overall happiness.
  • roel_v 9y ago
    "As for me, I enjoy drinking coffee and I enjoy drinking alcohol. They're small pleasures of life that contribute to my overall happiness." Yeah - it's like the old saying "it's easy to live to 100 years old, just give up all the things that make you want to live until 100'.
    • HNNoLikey 9y ago
      > it's easy to live to 100 years old, just give up all the things that make you want to live until 100 Oh-so cool. This makes me mull about the role that moderation plays in a person's overall happiness and success in life.
    • graphitezepp 9y ago
      I am typically very health conscious, even an aspiring sort of pseudo-vegetarian, with the exception of cured meat. Keep hearing about how bad the stuff is for you but you can pry my prosciutto from my cold dead hands.
• bariswheel 9y ago
  'One needs to gradually and continually increase the amount of caffeine consumed in order to experience the stimulant effect.' <- I still don't understand the problem here? Not sold on his 'why' answer, sorry.
• phatbyte 9y ago
  I love coffee, "wake up and smell the coffee" has a true meaning to me. I usually drink one or two cups of black (no sugar) coffee every morning, and 2 espressos during the rest of the day. I exercise on a daily basis, I eat well and I go to bed on time and I usually sleep between 7-8 hours. I don't have the same side-effects most people talk here, thankfully, because the smell of a just made home-made coffee is one the best things ever :P
• 5kyn3t 9y ago
  I think the supplements and alternatives, which are mentioned in the article are a bit weird...I think those are sports-products, and not real alternatives to coffee. I also want to reduce my caffeine/coffee intake, but I want to have the "same feeling" as when I drink coffee... For this I drink the following: * My girlfriend showed me Caro Coffee (wheat-basis): http://amzn.to/2w8RhDu http://amzn.to/2w8RhDu You make it like instant coffee with hot water (and milk/sugar) * Yogi Tea (chocolate-taste) http://amzn.to/2wZCVSP http://amzn.to/2wZCVSP Usually I drink this in winter.. But I'm not sure whether it is completly caffeine free. * Eimalzin (malt-cocoa) http://amzn.to/2i3bTrs http://amzn.to/2i3bTrs ok thats just cocoa.. still I like it from time to time * Zotter (various drinking chocolates) http://amzn.to/2w5W7SD http://amzn.to/2w5W7SD hmm very tasty! but a bit "heavy", so I only drink them from time to time. But I am always happy to find good tasting alternatives to coffee... Do you have any suggestions?
  • dEnigma 9y ago
    Just a bit of nitpicking: Caro Coffee is made from roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye; not wheat. Wikipedia has a list of coffee substitutes[0], but the only one I know and can recommend is barley malt coffee, which you've already mentioned. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_substitute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_substitute
  • fizgig 9y ago
    Check out Postum and Pero, the former being primarily wheat/barley, the latter mostly chicory.
• gedrap 9y ago
  I am a coffee drinker but I don't really get boost or anything. Nor do I feel tired or anything else that could be called withdrawal during the weekends, when I don't drink it. For me, making a cup of coffee is just a... ritual of sorts. Weighting the beans, pouring over water, all these things. And I really enjoy the taste, trying different beans. I don't want to sound pretentious, it's just a hobby for me. Maybe there are some alternatives to it (tea?) that have lower impact on health over time, but I haven't really explored it.
  • PacketPaul 9y ago
    Two days is not enough. Try being off it for a week. I bet you will feel terible on day 4.
    • icantdrive55 9y ago
      Everyone is different. I still remember this doctor who wrote his horror story about quitting caffeine. (Looking back--I think the Dr. slept through Placebo, actually psychosomatic class.) For myself, I just noticed a slight headache around day two. So far I've kicked alcohol, tobacco, opioids, but still have a benzo addiction to kick. (I sometimes feel those of us living in modern societies have been conditioned into believing quitting is much more difficult than it actually is? My best friend thought because he didn't have a lot of self-control, stopping smoking would be the last thing he could do. Well he stopped, and told me those commercials equating it to quitting opioids were wrong, and he wished he quit 20 years ago.)
    • acchow 9y ago
      I drink 3 cups of coffee every day. Often when traveling I'll have occasional periods of 3-5 days without any coffee whatsoever. Don't feel any different.
      • deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    • quickthrower2 9y ago
• michalu 9y ago
  Caffeine is worth quitting at least for periods of time to rebalance your cortisol and dompamine sensitivity. Both neurochemicals that affect focus, motivation, drive, etc. I love coffee and I found that when cycling off one of the best things to do is to switch to decaf (some tasty options out there) + L-Theanine. Another great help when cycling off is Rhodiola Rosea.
• thomasfl 9y ago
  I am 50 and I am addicted to the worlds favorite psychoactive drug, caffeine. It ruins my sleep. It ruins my concentration. It makes me have to visit the toilet way too often. Day and night. If you can stop, then do it.
• micheljansen 9y ago
  I love coffee, but not caffeine. I used to drink a lot of coffee – up to 8 cups a day – until I began to notice the negative effect it was having on my creativity. On caffeine, my thinking is somehow more "linear", taking the shortest path to solutions. Lateral thinking is more difficult and I am more easily distracted. For this reason, I have since cut down my caffeine consumption to 2-3 cups a day. I wish decaf tasted better. Then I would drink coffee all day. Sadly I have still not found any that I truly enjoy.
• bitL 9y ago
  How do you call that condition when you can drink e.g. 8 cups of coffee, not feeling any kick and going to sleep like a baby as if caffeine never mattered?
  • tiku 9y ago
    I guess it's called working to hard, i'm currently also in that state.. Almost vacation..
    • bitL 9y ago
      Nay, I meant some people just don't react to caffeine and I am curious what is the name of this "medical condition"; this pertains to myself and a few others I know. We can drink coffee/coke/whatever and sleep instantly and have zero boost from caffeine.
• torrent-of-ions 9y ago
  I enjoy coffee, but for sleep quality reasons I keep caffeine to a minimum in the afternoon so my last cup is with my lunch. I've found that my ability to fall asleep and stay asleep all night is increased. In the morning I use coffee to suppress my appetite since I fast until lunch time every day.
• harryf 9y ago
  Google cached version as it won't load for me https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yLb33ZgbkOYJ:https://enki.org/2017/08/13/quitting-caffeine/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ch https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yLb33Z...
• PacketPaul 9y ago
  I love coffee ... when I'm addicted to caffeine. I found when I get off of caffeine my love of coffee disappears. I've been on/off caffeine numerous times. Mostly because I have a big backpack trip where obtaining caffeine is a pain. It takes exactly a week for me with days 3-6 being miserable. I feel I am not fully "there" almost as if I'm an observer in my own body. There are two advantages I see in being off caffeine. First you are not dependent on a drug. Second, if you do need the drug for a rare occasion (maybe driving late into the night etc.) it is there for you. Being off caffeine then drinking a cup of coffee gives you a huge jolt. I got back on caffeine recently to see if it would help me lose weight. It did not. Now I'm fat and addicted.
  • JohnBooty 9y ago
    Yeah, I always say the best reason to quit caffeine is because it feels so good when you get back onto caffeine. :) Annnnnd this is why I don't do tobacco or "real" drugs.
  • thanatropism 9y ago
    > There are two advantages I see in being off caffeine. First you are not dependent on a drug. Second, if you do need the drug for a rare occasion (maybe driving late into the night etc.) it is there for you. Being off caffeine then drinking a cup of coffee gives you a huge jolt. This is my exact experience with the various kinds of ADHD stimulant meds.
  • bwat49 9y ago
    Yeah, I always loathed the taste of coffee and never understood how people drink the stuff. Now I drink it every day (mmmm caffeine)
• Drdrdrq 9y ago
  > I now use a workout supplement without caffeine. There are very few of these, I’ve found. Pretty much every supplement that gives you some kind of bump has caffeine in it. I have found that my energy level is improved by ensuring that I consume lots of electrolytes. Interesting. I would be more wary of using (artificial) workout supplements than indulging in (moderate quantities of) caffeine, sugar or alcohol. With latter at least we know the side effects. But then, we each choose our own poison I guess...
• StanislavPetrov 9y ago
  What the author didn't mention, and I haven't seen mentioned in these comments, are the extremely beneficial health effects of coffee (not caffeine, decaf has shown the same benefits). Most significantly, studies have shown that coffee reduces overall mortality rates significantly, with the reduced chance of dying from any cause increasing with coffee consumption (up to a point). >Compared with nonconsumers, participants in the highest quartile of coffee consumption had statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality (men: HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.82 to 0.95]; P for trend < 0.001; women: HR, 0.93 [CI, 0.87 to 0.98]; P for trend = 0.009). Inverse associations were also observed for digestive disease mortality for men (HR, 0.41 [CI, 0.32 to 0.54]; P for trend < 0.001) and women (HR, 0.60 [CI, 0.46 to 0.78]; P for trend < 0.001). Among women, there was a statistically significant inverse association of coffee drinking with circulatory disease mortality (HR, 0.78 [CI, 0.68 to 0.90]; P for trend < 0.001) and cerebrovascular disease mortality (HR, 0.70 [CI, 0.55 to 0.90]; P for trend = 0.002) and a positive association with ovarian cancer mortality (HR, 1.31 [CI, 1.07 to 1.61]; P for trend = 0.015). In the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort, higher coffee consumption was associated with lower serum alkaline phosphatase; alanine aminotransferase; aspartate aminotransferase; γ-glutamyltransferase; and, in women, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein(a), and glycated hemoglobin levels. http://annals.org/aim/article/2643435/coffee-drinking-mortality-10-european-countries-multinational-cohort-study http://annals.org/aim/article/2643435/coffee-drinking-mortal... In addition, according to other studies, coffee prevents and/or reverses liver damage due to alcohol consumption. One study suggested an extremely significant (44%) reduction in occurrences of cirrhosis among those who drink 2 cups of coffee a day. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coffee-liver-cirrhosis-idUSKCN0VR2JN http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coffee-liver-cirrho... When considering whether or not to give up your morning coffee, consider the good with the bad.
  • jraby3 9y ago
    For a more complete list of all the health benefits of coffee, and separately of caffeine: http://nutritionstrategy.com/coffee-good-or-bad/ http://nutritionstrategy.com/coffee-good-or-bad/
    • e40 9y ago
• deleted 9y ago
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• virtualwhys 9y ago
  Quit coffee 6 months ago after 20 years on the daily (generally 2 very strong home made double or triple espressos). It's not so much that eliminating caffeine is a life changing experience, but rather, you're unchained from the necessity to, above all else, get your caffeine fix. Some people can take it or leave it, go without for days at a stretch, which was not at all the case for me -- the only time I ever went without was when bed ridden or on a meditation retreat. In terms of energy, the reserves are deeper, since the energy depleting caffeine rush is gone. Also, quit consuming refined sugar, which may be a bigger win than quitting caffeine -- I think it's closer to the natural state that humans experienced long before concentrated Xs came into being. You have to want to quit. If you're younger you probably can withstand the racing heart, having to urinate frequently, insomnia, mood swings, and other negative side effects that inevitably affect the aging caffeine drinker.
  • swah 9y ago
    How old are you? I love my coffee but I have those problems too. On my short experiment quitting coffee (30 days IIRC), nothing really changed, so I restarted using it (which always feels great).
    • virtualwhys 9y ago
      > How old are you? 45 > On my short experiment quitting coffee (30 days IIRC), nothing really changed What has changed for me is that I no longer feel shackled to a pernicious habit. The caffeine addicted mind is very persuasive: "it's healthy, don't stop", "it's normal, everyone drinks coffee", "but the withdrawl symptoms", "I won't be as productive", etc.
• mememaestro 9y ago
  If caffeine is so bad then why people start drinking it?
• rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
  I "quit" caffeine while dealing with a mysterious and persistent nausea which ended up being mild food allergies. Either way, before I knew what was going on, I got frustrated at my textbook healthiness yielding no answers, went off the low-carb deep and and cut out grains and sugars almost entirely from my diet. Because my insulin/glucose levels have now moved from the penthouse to a basement apartment, I no longer have dramatic swings in energy throughout the day. My energy at 7AM is roughly the same energy I have by half after 4. I don't need caffeine or sugar to push me though a tired spell, and I haven't felt a caffeine/insulin crash in months. Caffeine control is one thing but insulin is the body's top dog energy regulator. If you have energy issues, start by focusing on insulin, not caffeine.
  • mcculley 9y ago
    I'm the original author. I should have mentioned in my post that I've also been consuming very few daily carbs for a few years now. I experience the effects you describe now when I do indulge in a doughnut or the like. It's hard to tell now how much of my even mood is due to quitting caffeine and how much is due to steady insulin levels. I do feel that I benefit from being very cautious about consuming all of the above (caffeine, sugar, carbs).
• simonklitj 9y ago
  Wondering if Northern Europe has developed some sort of genetic immunity/reduced influence to caffeine. With the Netherlands having a an average of 2.4 cups of coffee a day, one would expect chronic insomnia, yet this is not the case. I live in Denmark, where the average is 1.27 cups a day, and I oftentimes go over 10 cups a day of coffee, and I know a handful of people who're either up there with me, or drink even more.
  • brianwawok 9y ago
    When i drink past 10 cups a day it wears off pretty fast. Never had a problem with sleeping. More common is general anxiety. If you are anxious at all, tons of coffee tend to spike that up. Past 3 cups seems to harm my sanity more then it helps.
  • sambe 9y ago
    As I understand it, the research is not completely conclusive but the claim is that there is significant habituation effect. I've also heard that restlessness/insomnia are just as likely to be caused by withdrawal effects in the evening as they are by high consumption. Withdrawal effects have similarities to high usage, and anecdotally if I'm drinking a lot of coffee but stop early in the day I often have problems sleeping.
    • simonklitj 9y ago
      Huh, seems almost comical that withdrawal produces these symptoms. Thanks for your insight :-)
• anonu 9y ago
  I love coffee but have often thought of quitting as well. I found that skipping coffee every other day does two things. First, it keeps the ever increasing coffee/caffeine requirement in check. Second, your enjoyment of that cup goes up so much more. My life mantra is "everything in moderation". This method fits in a bit better with just quitting cold turkey.
  • lkozma 9y ago
    "everything in moderation", including moderation.
• k-ian 9y ago
  cached version: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fenki.org%2F2017%2F08%2F13%2Fquitting-caffeine%2F&oq=cache%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fenki.org%2F2017%2F08%2F13%2Fquitting-caffeine%2F&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.1551j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp...
• Waterluvian 9y ago
  Every so often I hit a ceiling where I worry that I'm going to kill myself with caffeine and hypertension or whatever so I stop for a week. Recently I took 400mg in pill form at 10pm in order to keep me up until 2am. I get 6-8 hours of sleep a night and everything else about my life is within the error margins of "healthy". I just like stretching my day, and find that caffeine's efficacy has dropped off a cliff since university.
• officefapper 9y ago
  I quit coffee when I realized that it was greatly exacerbating some anxiety issues. I do have the occasional tea though, and the occasional decaf.
• mythrwy 9y ago
  I've found for me the secret to effective coffee drinking is don't drink it right away upon awaking, particularly on an empty stomach. Move about, have breakfast, wake up naturally. Then an hour or two after waking up have a small amount. Much less negative effect on rest of day while getting the energy benefits.
• cannonpr 9y ago
  I find it hard to take articles around this seriously when they don't take into consideration the huge variability humans show in metabolising coffee and it's related health effects. A light introduction can be found here: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/for-coffee-drinkers-the-buzz-may-be-in-your-genes/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/for-coffee-drinker... A more in depth can be found: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242593/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242593/ It's all about CYP1A2
  • mcculley 9y ago
    I'm the original author. I tried to make clear this was lessons learned from my personal experience. I see here a few people claiming caffeine does not affect them at all. I'll update the post to try to make clearer that I am personally affected by caffeine and maybe this does not apply to all people.
  • mcculley 9y ago
    You make a good point. I've had my genome sampled by 23andMe, so I went back and looked at my report. I updated my post to point out that my results might not be the same as those for others.
    • cannonpr 9y ago
      Interesting, thanks for the comment, actually I started reading on this because of 23andMe as well and I'm on the opposite spectrum, which means coffee doesn't affect me much, the same can't be said of my partner who has like you also quit btw.
• aaronchall 9y ago
  I'm addicted to black tea. If I don't have two cups, daily, I get bad headaches. It's not caffeine, because coffee doesn't substitute, neither does green tea. So it must be some stimulant unique to black tea. Maybe theobromine, theophylline, or L-Theanine? (see http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/stimulants-in-tea http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/stimulants-in-tea - maybe a questionable source...)
• ttonkytonk 9y ago
  As for the "wildly varying amounts of caffeine", for purposes of not exceeding 400 mg/day,I have settled on what I saw on the side of a can of coffee that one tablespoon of the average coffee has 63 mg of caffeine in it. Would love to see a precise, detailed breakdown of caffeine content and variances in coffee, tea etc.
• louithethrid 9y ago
  Someone i know has shizophrenia, for him, cafeein ment propelling insomnia and a infinite creation drug binge. Also a inability to socialize regularly and bursts of paranoia. Its fascinating what this drug has created. Just look at pre cofee europe and post coffe europe. All those half thought through manifestos would have never been written if it werent for that coup burning the midnight oil.
• deleted 9y ago
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• valuearb 9y ago
  Quitting 30 years of daily caffeine was easy, I did it in a day by switching to amphetamines. I'm very happy with the change.