Giving up caffeine is a game changer

[cosine]

I periodically "detox" from caffeine for 2 weeks, and I do sleep better after the first 2 days.

My difficulty is doing my job, which is programming-oriented. I can attend meetings or complete some of the simpler tasks without caffeine, but to really be productive deep into a dataset, I struggle without caffeine.

 

[Eusebius]

My caffeine tolerance gradually went down to the point where I wasn't tolerating my daily 2 cups of coffee, but I didn't realize it. I thought the anxiety - severe at times - was just me. Take your caffeine habit seriously! In my case, I could handle it when younger but most definitely not in my 40s.

Does Yerba mate have similar effect on your focus on mental clarity?

It may be subjective or placebo, but yes I do find that yerba mate helps with my mood and focus. A cup has about 27mg caffeine compared to 130+ for coffee. It tastes good too, like a mild green tea, and you can leave the tea bag in the cup and it won't get bitter.

 

[ballpointpen]

I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey about 1.5 years ago (went from 3~4 espressos daily, which was already a reduction from previous intakes, to none), over fears that it was messing with my digestive system - which was, to a point, true. About two weeks ago I'm back to drinking coffee, just a single espresso in the morning, and never in an empty stomach, and it's quite amazing the "kick" I get out of it; drugs do be like that I guess. Hopefully I don't build tolerance too fast.

 

[Eusebius]

I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey about 1.5 years ago (went from 3~4 espressos daily, which was already a reduction from previous intakes, to none), over fears that it was messing with my digestive system - which was, to a point, true. About two weeks ago I'm back to drinking coffee, just a single espresso in the morning, and never in an empty stomach, and it's quite amazing the "kick" I get out of it; drugs do be like that I guess. Hopefully I don't build tolerance too fast.

That's the treadmill my friend. The first coffee back after abstaining is heavenly. Then the second isn't quite so good, but what the hell, you're feeling no ill effects so you have a third. Before you know it you're quitting coffee for the eighth time.

 

[tomzestatlu]

I don't think yerba mate is good, if you want to quit with coffeine, but definitely great choice, to switch to from coffee.
There are many articles discussing health benefits of yerba mate, so I will only share my personal experience.
While coffee gives you fast kick and then it dissapears fastly, yerba mate gives you very healthy feeling of being energized (both mentally and physically) and it lasts long.
There are many ways to prepare it, but I use traditional way. I put bigger amount (5 big spoons) of it to bigger vessel (I use big cup) and fill it with water. I drink it with straw with filter. Sometimes its okay to "use" one dose of mate twice (you just fill new water, when you are finished). Even though mate is lower on caffeine than equivalent of coffee, usually it's being used much more mate, so you probably take bigger dosage of coffeine (but it feels differently, than drinking few cups of coffee).

Once I started to drink mate, I totally lost desire to drink coffee at all. I enjoy it more and effects are much better. Also I really enjoy the taste.
If you are willing to continue with coffee or drink less cups, mate is good choice. But it's still coffeine. From time to time I detox myself from coffeine and the cravings are similar, both coffee and mate.

 

[r3d]

Talked to my doc today because I was getting bloodwork done. Told him about me kicking caffeine and the weeklong headache. He said he had tried it as well, same headaches and in the end he went back. He's really fit and competent in my opinion.

That's pretty cool because it means he as a doctor also thinks it would be better to kick it but he couldn't do it. I can imagine it's basically impossible to go through the weeks of re-adjustment when you have a doctor's office to run.

So everyone who's thinking about it and is possibly locked down due to covid: Now is the time.

 

[eradicator]

I went years without caffeine but still get the occasional coffee. This is a good thread and definitely think I’d be better off with no coffee

 

[Blade Runner]

I drink coffee (never past noon), yerba mate, and black or green tea. Mate is good, clean, and more caffeinated than even black tea, but still nowhere near coffee. I don't like the dependence on coffee, but it is an amazing task enhancer, motivator, and social or routine fixture. If you cycle in and out of good sleep or dopamine here or there, coffee is a near must, especially if you must do xyz at any given time for your work/job. The (in)digestion part is likely real with coffee as well, as it rapidly increases transit time, but it's not so huge - the benefits never seem to be outweighed by only a few negatives comparatively.

There is a strange thing I've noticed with other people - some people's minds (is it anxiety too? I don't know) just don't really change that much with coffee. I think they have overactive minds in general and this predisposes to things I'm talking about. But they are less likely to get the cloudier part of thinking from lack of dopamine activation ... it's all hard to truly figure out but my theory rests also on these same people never seeming to sleep well. Haha, as if they did drink coffee ...

 

[slowpoke]

I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey about 1.5 years ago (went from 3~4 espressos daily, which was already a reduction from previous intakes, to none), over fears that it was messing with my digestive system - which was, to a point, true. About two weeks ago I'm back to drinking coffee, just a single espresso in the morning, and never in an empty stomach, and it's quite amazing the "kick" I get out of it; drugs do be like that I guess. Hopefully I don't build tolerance too fast.

What improvements in your digestion did you have? (that's probably my main motivation to quit)

 

[Theseus7]

When I was a teen, and not yet corrupted by society, I had pretty strong moral instincts.

One of those was a distrust of all psychoactive substances. All: including caffeine, alcohol, antidepressants.

Looking back on it, I think I had accurately perceived them as traps set up by the Devil.

We are not supposed to get pleasure and happiness through artificial means, only through a life aligned with God.

As the OP correctly says, some drugs are simply "legal cocaine". Caffeine, alcohol, pornography and gambling may be as bad as cocaine, but they don't suffer as bad a reputation simply because they are socially accepted and most people don't view them as drugs. But they are. And most people are stupid/ignorant.

 

[r3d]

I'll update one last time to give some extra encouragement to those who are playing with the idea:

It's been two months since I quit and only just now I feel like I'm reaping 100% of the benefits. Mood, sleep and energy are 300% more stable, I don't crash after meals or in the evening, I find getting up after 7-8 hours extremely easy (something you haven't heard me say my entire life, ever) and overall there are simply no downsides.

Sometimes after lunch when I'm at home and I do feel like a nap I just close my eyes for a bit and drift off into a very light sleep for 20 - 30 minutes. But I'm never groggy aftewards or even feel like really slept and can just resume the day as if I had stayed awake.

I'm still crazy happy that I've tried this. 5/5 stars. Would detox again.

 

[Johnnyvee]

I'll update one last time to give some extra encouragement to those who are playing with the idea:

It's been two months since I quit and only just now I feel like I'm reaping 100% of the benefits. Mood, sleep and energy are 300% more stable, I don't crash after meals or in the evening, I find getting up after 7-8 hours extremely easy (something you haven't heard me say my entire life, ever) and overall there are simply no downsides.

Sometimes after lunch when I'm at home and I do feel like a nap I just close my eyes for a bit and drift off into a very light sleep for 20 - 30 minutes. But I'm never groggy aftewards or even feel like really slept and can just resume the day as if I had stayed awake.

I'm still crazy happy that I've tried this. 5/5 stars. Would detox again.

I'll update one last time to give some extra encouragement to those who are playing with the idea:

It's been two months since I quit and only just now I feel like I'm reaping 100% of the benefits. Mood, sleep and energy are 300% more stable, I don't crash after meals or in the evening, I find getting up after 7-8 hours extremely easy (something you haven't heard me say my entire life, ever) and overall there are simply no downsides.

Sometimes after lunch when I'm at home and I do feel like a nap I just close my eyes for a bit and drift off into a very light sleep for 20 - 30 minutes. But I'm never groggy aftewards or even feel like really slept and can just resume the day as if I had stayed awake.

I'm still crazy happy that I've tried this. 5/5 stars. Would detox again.

Notice any difference in skin/hair?

 

[r3d]

Notice any difference in skin/hair?

I've never had any issues with either so I haven't paid attention to it. Now that I think about it maybe a little clearer skin.

 

[EndlessGravity]

Why is this thread not in the conspiracy theory section of the forum?

 

[Anomaly]

I’m 41 years older, about to turn 42. I have been drinking coffee since eight years old. I used to have two or three cups of coffee per day, but recently decreased it to one and sometimes none, with tea replacing it. I plan on doing away with coffee altogether. I don’t know, but as of late I sometimes I can’t even finish a full cup after breakfast and at times the the combination of half-and-half, sugar, and coffee that I once loved grossed me out; sometimes it’s great, sometimes I’m drinking it and all of the sudden, I think, “this is gross.”
Being a former bodybuilder (competed once), and fitness conscious most of my life, my diet is great 95-plus percent of the time, but coffee has been that one dietary Vice I’ve had for 34 years!

 

[Hootie]

Has anyone encountered wild swings in sleep patterns?

 

[FiatVoluntasTua]

Coffee is great for me. As always moderation is key. What people have to notice with caffeine is the different reactions. Some folks have instant diarrhea and shake like a heroin addict after half a cup and some function wonderfully after it. Tea might help the former people as the caffeine dispersion here is not as instant.

 

[Johnnyvee]

"...In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire, and coffeehouses were established, soon becoming increasingly popular. The first coffeehouses is said to have appeared in 1632 in Livorno by a Jewish merchant..."

"...The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford in 1650-1651 by "Jacob the Jew..."

Source: Wiki

It`s (((coffee)))time.

 

[darebear]

While I'm on my third cup of coffee right now, I did give up caffeine for Lent and used herbal "coffee" (Teeccino) as my preferred alternative. I ran out yesterday and have quickly fallen prey to the caffeine monster. The main ingredients are chicory root and carob, but there are other herbs and ingredients depending on the flavor.

It provides more of a robust flavor than tea making it a superior alternative in my opinion. After Lent, I started mixing Teeccino with coffee to keep my caffeine intake low and reduce the acidity level of the coffee.

 

[westernman]

"...In the 17th century, coffee appeared for the first time in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire, and coffeehouses were established, soon becoming increasingly popular. The first coffeehouses is said to have appeared in 1632 in Livorno by a Jewish merchant..."

"...The first coffeehouse in England was set up in Oxford in 1650-1651 by "Jacob the Jew..."

Source: Wiki

It`s (((coffee)))time.

Interesting... I've made the point that Jews brought caffeine to Europe through the British East India Company. If we look at the largest coffee merchants today (Folgers, Starbucks, Dunkin Doughnuts, etc.) they are all Jewish