On being human
How I quit caffeine for 30 days
And survived with much more energy
My coffee addiction — Day in a life
I was addicted. I did not realise that before but I was. I woke up, went to kitchen, press the button on our espresso machine and have my first espresso. Then when I came to work, I turn on my computer and went to the kitchen and press the button again. This time for a Flat White coffee (which means double espresso). Until lunch I sometimes grab another espresso. After lunch I could not function without coffee. And sometimes around 3pm I had my last one.
So, on a good days I count 4 espresso shots a day, that was my minimum. On a bad days I drank 6 or 7 espresso shots a day.
Decision
I was almost alcohol free on January so coffee free on February. Let's make this year a year of experiments. Living one month without something. (Ha, I did not know March would be without meeting people). However, I have also realized that I was having rather frequent headaches, where coffee (caffeine) might be a contributor.
Process
I did not have a problem in the first several days. I just stopped drinking coffee, but I have replaced with tea. So I had English breakfast tea (black) with milk in the morning and maybe two others cups of tea during the day. But I wanted to quit caffeine totally. So on the 8th February I had my last green tea. That was Monday. On Tuesday I was hosting our company Townhall so adrenalin before speaking in front of people let me survive half a day. Then came the withdrawal symptoms.
5 withdrawal symptoms
1. Craving
I experienced cravings that people usually connect with alcohol or sex. Second day when I stopped with caffeine I went out to seek decaf coffee. At least something. This how badly I needed it. I check several coffee shops and looked for decaffeinated coffee. Finally, I have found out one capsule machine in our company. It tasted horrible, but I really liked that. Since the first week the craving was going away. I replaced coffee with caffeine free alternatives.
2. Tiredness
24 hours after my last cup of tea I felt down. I could not focus, so instead working a on project that was excited about I did some busy work. Cleaning up emails. But expected that. Nothing urgent needed to be done in these days. Plan before you eliminate caffeine and be ready to be sleepy and not productive. Except this not what is going to happen.
3. Inability to sleep
Although I was tired like hell during a day I could not fall a sleep. If I did, I woke during a night several times. Although I have embraced that feeling, I did not make much from it. My girlfriend did not and she rather slept in a living room, because I was just moving on the bad too much. I was either hot or cold, I was opening/closing the window. Changing the setup of the temperature on the radiator.
4. Loss of stability
Next day I did not want to do anything. Complexity of the project that I should lead iritated me. although I usually thrive in these complex situation, on that day I saw it only as chaos. This symptom was probably connected with sleepless night tough.
5. Anxiety
I don’t feel anxiety much these days. I did not feel it in my mind neither but in the body. I felt the same anxiety like I expect something horrible to happen. Nothing had happen.
What to take from this?
After my research I have found out the symptoms usually persist from 2 to 4 days. This kept me motivated. These purely physical withdrawal symptoms were really gone after those few days. I still craved for a coffee. But the inability to fulfil this longing make me actually more mindful about this. Part of this longing was for connection. I enjoy brief breaks in the company kitchen, have a coffee and talk with others. I realized that I am actually not that person who needs to have a coffee, but really like the process of having a coffee.
I would share few tips:
- Stop slowly, in a matter of days. I firstly cut coffee but still drunk tea for a few days.
- Be ready that it might be bad, but embrace it as a part of the process
- Notice the cravings. Do you crave for coffee itself or for café, for company of people?
Am I done with coffee?
Not at all. The Sunday where my month without coffee ended I have enjoyed my first cup. This month without coffee did not change my life, but it help me to restart my relationship with this wonderful beverage.
So I now have two coffee a day a maximum. If I crave for more coffee, I have this corn based coffee alternative, which I started to like. I don’t have the headaches anymore. So I will probably stick with these two cups a day.
