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A year? I did it in a week. It's not worth the long effort to do it over a year. Just rip that plaster off Yes, I can confirm I got headaches for that week,

A year? I did it in a week. It's not worth the long effort to do it over a year. Just rip that plaster off Yes, I can confirm I got headaches for that week, but after that, it was fine. I no longer found myself getting drowsy mid morning or mid afternoon when I'd normally have cups of tea But it's not worth dragging it out when it's easy to get over a caffeine addiction in such a short timeframe Edit: And due to the quick quitting, the benefits were much more noticeable. Within a couple of weeks it was immediately obvious to me how much more alert I was throughout the day, how much of my normal workday sluggishness and brain fog was artificially caused by caffeine, and how much less greasy my skin was

mchanson 6y ago
I think different folks have different experiences with quitting caffeine. I agree its worth the quick method for a lot of people, but I had a cousin who had to go slow like this.
- ghaff 6y ago
  It's clearly a thing that some people have significant physiological effects from/dependency on and others don't. I like coffee in the morning but I'm also fine with black tea and even herbal tea. I've no reason to want to give it up but if I had to for some reason, I could do so tomorrow without any real issue other than annoyance on the same order as giving up cheese or something like that.
  - ChrisRR 6y ago
    I like a cup of tea too, and I really like pepsi max, but after a while I'm perfectly happy with a rooibos tea, squash, fanta, fruit juice and there's nothing wrong with the occasional pepsi.
danielbarla 6y ago
> And due to the quick quitting, the benefits were much more noticeable. Within a couple of weeks it was immediately obvious to me how much more alert I was throughout the day, how much of my normal workday sluggishness and brain fog was artificially caused by caffeine, and how much less greasy my skin was Interestingly, I also quit fairly quickly, about two years ago. Honestly though, I did not experience such major, obvious benefits. I was definitely overdoing coffee in the past, and when it got to the point that I needed two strong ones before 9AM to get going, I decided it's time to stop taking loans out against my sleep. But basically post-quit, I have similar levels of energy/tiredness, overall (compared to a normal, on-coffee day). It's just less peaky and trough-y, and sleep is more predictable. The main difference I would say is that on that rare occasion when I now have a coffee, it has an extremely sharp effect. It's pretty odd, and I'm wondering if people are overblowing the effects, or if I'm just the odd one out.
- ChrisRR 6y ago
  Don't forget that caffeine may not be the only thing causing lethargy. You may also be deficient in other vitamins (quite often people don't eat anywhere near enough vegetables), or you may just be getting a bad night's sleep. Maybe you're not sleeping for long enough, or suffering from sleep apnoea Maybe you're simply sat in your office chair for too long every day and just need to go for a wander once an hour to get the blood flowing. Quitting caffeine is just one step, but if it's not what's causing your issues, don't forget to look into other aspects of your lifestyle,
  - danielbarla 6y ago
    I suspect you're right. I've got most of the first paragraph covered very well, but definitely could have a more diverse diet, and my physical activity levels vary between something quite decent (walking / cycling to work, alongside other fitness routine) to periods of almost no activity (lockdown + no fitness routine). It could definitely be improved, and I will put a bit of focus on it.
  - netizen-9748 6y ago
    For me exercise is vital, it wakes me up better than caffeine ever has. Working up a light sweat and getting your heart rate up seems to increase mental sharpness, likely due to the norepinephrine response.
- taeric 6y ago
  I'm in this boat. I didn't drink coffee til mid twenties, and I have never used an alarm clock. Now, I love the taste of coffee. I have given it up a few times, but have never really felt better or worse for it.
- brundolf 6y ago
  Same here; coffee has never made me feel generally "bad" in any way that I can detect. I drink several cups a day - sometimes (not usually) as late as 5 or 6pm - and sleep like a baby anyway. I haven't ever given it up completely, but I did cut down to a single (8oz) cup first thing in the morning for a little while. The only noticeable effect was - as you said - the coffee I did drink had more of a punch than before. I didn't feel like I had more or less energy overall; I certainly didn't notice anything like "skin greasiness" before or after. It's interesting that it affects people so differently. It takes a whole lot of coffee for me to even feel jittery; most of the time it's just a pleasant boost of emotional energy. Like an anti-depressant. I feel excited about life and ready to go dive into it. That's the main reason I drink it most days; not to keep myself awake. It just feels good, seemingly without downsides.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ekabod 6y ago
I noticed too that my skin was less greasy when I quit drinking coffee abruptly. After quitting, I had cramps in legs for 7 days while lying to the point I had trouble falling asleep.
- yetihehe 6y ago
  My skin is very greasy, I drink about 4 big cups a day sipping constantly, to maintain the same level of caffeine to improve coding skills, but when I have long vacations (two weeks) I don't see any side effects like headaches and my skin is probably even greasier. Also I don't have any trouble sleeping with or without coffee, but I drink only until end of work (16:00 for me). So, everyone is different. If I don't drink coffee, I feel it very well when trying to code, I can even detect by effects if some cofee is low on caffeine.
mike_h 6y ago
If you look around on the internet (e.g. Reddit) for quitting plans, 2-3 weeks is the standard tapering time to avoid side effects. If you don’t have the measurement tools or discipline, there are products with pre-measured doses you can buy to walk you through it, e.g. https://www.weancaffeine.com/ https://www.weancaffeine.com/ Following that regime I not only notice hardly any side effects, but also by day 3 or 4 feel noticeably better than during addiction.
- ChrisRR 6y ago
  2-3 weeks without side effects sounds like a good trade off. I guess the point of my comment is that dragging it out for a year is way longer than it needs to be. This person is likely causing themselves more hassle than they need by trying to micro-manage their levels for an entire year what can be done in 3 weeks.
  - mike_h 6y ago
    That is for sure. Impressive long-term self-discipline though.
- jasonv 6y ago
  I'd been buying regular and decaffeinated coffee and mixing then for the last few years. One day a few months ago I just bought the decaff and used that and had no difficulties at all. None. So yes, some/many people will have withdrawal issues, but it might also be that you have no side effects in quitting. I'm totally happy to have quit caffeine.
  - eurasiantiger 6y ago
    Many people in this thread are making the assumption that coffee produces its effects solely through caffeine. This is not true. Coffee contains large amounts of Harmala alkaloids that act as reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Their half-life in brain fatty tissues is several weeks.
    - 6y ago
dhruvkar 6y ago
I've done that before and yeah it feels great after the withdrawals. However, it wasn't enough for a permanent habit change. I fell back into drinking coffee after a month. This way I'm physiologically and psychologically less dependent on the caffeine and the habit. I'm sure this varies person to person.
eurasiantiger 6y ago
How do you know that these benefits came from quitting caffeine? There are lots of psychoactive compounds in coffee and tea. You need to get addicted to pure caffeine and wean yourself off that as a comparison.
- ChrisRR 6y ago
  Well I was drinking way more pepsi max than I was tea, but overall whatever caused the improvements from cutting them out worked. And those symptoms happened to be in line with caffeine addiction so it's quite likely
asdff 6y ago
I found the same results when I kicked two separate nicotine addictions (one was chaw and cigarettes, the other ecigs). The ecig addiction was way more painful to go through. I suspect that's because you end up injesting quite a lot of nicotine when you can hit an e cig basically anywhere, and it doesn't make you feel nauseous like too much chewing tobacco or hoarse like too many cigarettes so you just keep hitting it. I had splitting headaches and trouble sleeping for a week then it was done. Cold turkey is the way to quit nicotine imo. Patches, gum, ecig, etc, are all just ways to drag it out and spend more money on nicotine, with the side chance of still being addicted. Cigarettes aren't heroin. It's gonna suck but then suddenly it won't.
- eurasiantiger 6y ago
  Interesting. I’ve found both tobacco and coffee to be extremely addictive and habit-forming, as well as various other mixtures of caffeine and MAOIs (e.g. energy drinks bombed to hell and back with flavonoids). Pure nicotine (ecigs) and pure caffeine, on the other hand, are much easier to keep in check or quit. The craving to take a puff from an ecig is almost nonexistent compared to the massive drive to get cigarettes. I would walk miles for them just to light one up. Same goes for energy drinks. They are addictive as hell, but the addiction is not caused by caffeine alone — rather, the massive interaction between monoamine oxidase inhibition and caffeine’s stimulant effects.
  - asdff 6y ago
    >The craving to take a puff from an ecig is almost nonexistent It wasn't so much a craving, more that I would getting a headache if it started getting too long between sessions. Sometimes it would show up within a half hour.
    - eurasiantiger 6y ago
      Strange. I have never experienced that. Do you also drink coffee?
- Jermaine_Jabi 6y ago
MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
As someone who sporadically quits coffee throughout the year, the only differences I've noticed is that I feel the same without caffeine. I don't feel magically any better or worse. I just feel the same as if caffeine wasn't a factor. So I go back to drinking coffee and tea because I enjoy it. But I also hold that bit knowing I can always quit because I have done it. It's not addictive in the sense of cigarettes. It's a pleasurable taste. Caffeine has a side effect that has marginally minimal negative effects. So I don't get why we criticize outselves for enjoying something such as beverages with caffeine.

mchanson 6y ago

I think different folks have different experiences with quitting caffeine. I agree its worth the quick method for a lot of people, but I had a cousin who had to go slow like this.

ghaff 6y ago
It's clearly a thing that some people have significant physiological effects from/dependency on and others don't. I like coffee in the morning but I'm also fine with black tea and even herbal tea. I've no reason to want to give it up but if I had to for some reason, I could do so tomorrow without any real issue other than annoyance on the same order as giving up cheese or something like that.
- ChrisRR 6y ago
  I like a cup of tea too, and I really like pepsi max, but after a while I'm perfectly happy with a rooibos tea, squash, fanta, fruit juice and there's nothing wrong with the occasional pepsi.

danielbarla 6y ago

> And due to the quick quitting, the benefits were much more noticeable. Within a couple of weeks it was immediately obvious to me how much more alert I was throughout the day, how much of my normal workday sluggishness and brain fog was artificially caused by caffeine, and how much less greasy my skin was Interestingly, I also quit fairly quickly, about two years ago. Honestly though, I did not experience such major, obvious benefits. I was definitely overdoing coffee in the past, and when it got to the point that I needed two strong ones before 9AM to get going, I decided it's time to stop taking loans out against my sleep. But basically post-quit, I have similar levels of energy/tiredness, overall (compared to a normal, on-coffee day). It's just less peaky and trough-y, and sleep is more predictable. The main difference I would say is that on that rare occasion when I now have a coffee, it has an extremely sharp effect. It's pretty odd, and I'm wondering if people are overblowing the effects, or if I'm just the odd one out.

ChrisRR 6y ago
Don't forget that caffeine may not be the only thing causing lethargy. You may also be deficient in other vitamins (quite often people don't eat anywhere near enough vegetables), or you may just be getting a bad night's sleep. Maybe you're not sleeping for long enough, or suffering from sleep apnoea Maybe you're simply sat in your office chair for too long every day and just need to go for a wander once an hour to get the blood flowing. Quitting caffeine is just one step, but if it's not what's causing your issues, don't forget to look into other aspects of your lifestyle,
- danielbarla 6y ago
  I suspect you're right. I've got most of the first paragraph covered very well, but definitely could have a more diverse diet, and my physical activity levels vary between something quite decent (walking / cycling to work, alongside other fitness routine) to periods of almost no activity (lockdown + no fitness routine). It could definitely be improved, and I will put a bit of focus on it.
- netizen-9748 6y ago
  For me exercise is vital, it wakes me up better than caffeine ever has. Working up a light sweat and getting your heart rate up seems to increase mental sharpness, likely due to the norepinephrine response.
taeric 6y ago
I'm in this boat. I didn't drink coffee til mid twenties, and I have never used an alarm clock. Now, I love the taste of coffee. I have given it up a few times, but have never really felt better or worse for it.
brundolf 6y ago
Same here; coffee has never made me feel generally "bad" in any way that I can detect. I drink several cups a day - sometimes (not usually) as late as 5 or 6pm - and sleep like a baby anyway. I haven't ever given it up completely, but I did cut down to a single (8oz) cup first thing in the morning for a little while. The only noticeable effect was - as you said - the coffee I did drink had more of a punch than before. I didn't feel like I had more or less energy overall; I certainly didn't notice anything like "skin greasiness" before or after. It's interesting that it affects people so differently. It takes a whole lot of coffee for me to even feel jittery; most of the time it's just a pleasant boost of emotional energy. Like an anti-depressant. I feel excited about life and ready to go dive into it. That's the main reason I drink it most days; not to keep myself awake. It just feels good, seemingly without downsides.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ekabod 6y ago

I noticed too that my skin was less greasy when I quit drinking coffee abruptly. After quitting, I had cramps in legs for 7 days while lying to the point I had trouble falling asleep.

yetihehe 6y ago
My skin is very greasy, I drink about 4 big cups a day sipping constantly, to maintain the same level of caffeine to improve coding skills, but when I have long vacations (two weeks) I don't see any side effects like headaches and my skin is probably even greasier. Also I don't have any trouble sleeping with or without coffee, but I drink only until end of work (16:00 for me). So, everyone is different. If I don't drink coffee, I feel it very well when trying to code, I can even detect by effects if some cofee is low on caffeine.

mike_h 6y ago

If you look around on the internet (e.g. Reddit) for quitting plans, 2-3 weeks is the standard tapering time to avoid side effects. If you don’t have the measurement tools or discipline, there are products with pre-measured doses you can buy to walk you through it, e.g. https://www.weancaffeine.com/ https://www.weancaffeine.com/ Following that regime I not only notice hardly any side effects, but also by day 3 or 4 feel noticeably better than during addiction.

ChrisRR 6y ago
2-3 weeks without side effects sounds like a good trade off. I guess the point of my comment is that dragging it out for a year is way longer than it needs to be. This person is likely causing themselves more hassle than they need by trying to micro-manage their levels for an entire year what can be done in 3 weeks.
- mike_h 6y ago
  That is for sure. Impressive long-term self-discipline though.
jasonv 6y ago
I'd been buying regular and decaffeinated coffee and mixing then for the last few years. One day a few months ago I just bought the decaff and used that and had no difficulties at all. None. So yes, some/many people will have withdrawal issues, but it might also be that you have no side effects in quitting. I'm totally happy to have quit caffeine.
- eurasiantiger 6y ago
  Many people in this thread are making the assumption that coffee produces its effects solely through caffeine. This is not true. Coffee contains large amounts of Harmala alkaloids that act as reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Their half-life in brain fatty tissues is several weeks.
  - 6y ago

dhruvkar 6y ago

I've done that before and yeah it feels great after the withdrawals. However, it wasn't enough for a permanent habit change. I fell back into drinking coffee after a month. This way I'm physiologically and psychologically less dependent on the caffeine and the habit. I'm sure this varies person to person.

eurasiantiger 6y ago

How do you know that these benefits came from quitting caffeine? There are lots of psychoactive compounds in coffee and tea. You need to get addicted to pure caffeine and wean yourself off that as a comparison.

ChrisRR 6y ago
Well I was drinking way more pepsi max than I was tea, but overall whatever caused the improvements from cutting them out worked. And those symptoms happened to be in line with caffeine addiction so it's quite likely

asdff 6y ago

I found the same results when I kicked two separate nicotine addictions (one was chaw and cigarettes, the other ecigs). The ecig addiction was way more painful to go through. I suspect that's because you end up injesting quite a lot of nicotine when you can hit an e cig basically anywhere, and it doesn't make you feel nauseous like too much chewing tobacco or hoarse like too many cigarettes so you just keep hitting it. I had splitting headaches and trouble sleeping for a week then it was done. Cold turkey is the way to quit nicotine imo. Patches, gum, ecig, etc, are all just ways to drag it out and spend more money on nicotine, with the side chance of still being addicted. Cigarettes aren't heroin. It's gonna suck but then suddenly it won't.

eurasiantiger 6y ago
Interesting. I’ve found both tobacco and coffee to be extremely addictive and habit-forming, as well as various other mixtures of caffeine and MAOIs (e.g. energy drinks bombed to hell and back with flavonoids). Pure nicotine (ecigs) and pure caffeine, on the other hand, are much easier to keep in check or quit. The craving to take a puff from an ecig is almost nonexistent compared to the massive drive to get cigarettes. I would walk miles for them just to light one up. Same goes for energy drinks. They are addictive as hell, but the addiction is not caused by caffeine alone — rather, the massive interaction between monoamine oxidase inhibition and caffeine’s stimulant effects.
- asdff 6y ago
  >The craving to take a puff from an ecig is almost nonexistent It wasn't so much a craving, more that I would getting a headache if it started getting too long between sessions. Sometimes it would show up within a half hour.
  - eurasiantiger 6y ago
    Strange. I have never experienced that. Do you also drink coffee?
Jermaine_Jabi 6y ago

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago

As someone who sporadically quits coffee throughout the year, the only differences I've noticed is that I feel the same without caffeine. I don't feel magically any better or worse. I just feel the same as if caffeine wasn't a factor. So I go back to drinking coffee and tea because I enjoy it. But I also hold that bit knowing I can always quit because I have done it. It's not addictive in the sense of cigarettes. It's a pleasurable taste. Caffeine has a side effect that has marginally minimal negative effects. So I don't get why we criticize outselves for enjoying something such as beverages with caffeine.