I Stopped drinking coffee three months ago.
The worst was the first week, which I can compare to having a hangover, but without the sensitivity to light and feeling dehydrated. For a week, I suffered from headaches, nausea, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.
There were times of the day, like 9 in the morning, when I needed my cup of coffee to stop my body from screaming for it and to get that energy boost. The problem was, the energy boost lasted for an hour or so, followed by a crash, resulting in lower energy levels than before.
Compared to now, a few minutes after waking up, I am fully energised, and the best part is that I stay energised throughout the day. No more cravings, no more crashes.
I am also better hydrated now. While drinking coffee, going out into the hot sunny day left me feeling jaded by midday, and no amount of coffee or water could help. I felt like something was pulling my brain from the inside.
That feeling is now gone. I also don’t need to drink water before sleep, which helps me stay asleep throughout the night. I noticed my sleep quality went through the roof, and I feel generally rested after waking up.
Do I miss coffee? Not really. Sometimes, I might be tempted by the smell, but just the smell itself. There’s no taste to it even if I have sip. It’s like you can put a cup of coffee next to me, and I won’t have it because it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Once the withdrawal symptoms were gone, coffee stopped existing to me.
If you want to try this yourself, you can go cold turkey, but seeing people truly miserable going that way, I wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, you can lower your dose of caffeine gradually. Start by replacing a double espresso shot with a single, then replace that single shot with Earl Grey or green tea, as these still contain caffeine but in much lower amounts. Finally, switch to fruity or herbal teas, or my favorite, peppermint tea. I lowered my caffeine dose every other day, and the withdrawal symptoms became less irritating as time went on.
If you decide to go this way, let me know how it went and whether you decided to stay caffeine-free or not.
