Quitting caffeine

It_Is_My_Time said:

I recommend getting off caffeine. It isn't easy, but it is well worth it.

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Can confirm. Followed IIMT's advice starting about 3 weeks ago. Lower blood pressure, and sleeping 2 hours less yet sleeping deeper and feeling more rested (in part, because I no longer have to get up at night to urinate). I'm also getting more productive work hours in as I'm not "crashing" around 3pm and feeling tired and so I'm finding it easier to carry on with work until 5 or 6 with no problem.

Found a great Colombian organic Swiss water decaf that tastes just as good as the caffeinated stuff and being a lover of coffee this has really helped. Thus, for me, getting off caffeine was easy compared to cigarettes and alcohol.

I have a double shot of espresso every morning and that's it. Occasionally I'll have a decaf cappucino later in the day. I always wanted a decent espresso machine and my husband got me one our first Christmas together I love it so much and it tastes so much better than regular coffee that we took that machine on a road trip back to Texas once haha. We also once took it to a church coffee hour after a service at our deacon's house and I made lattes and cappuccinos for dozens of people, one at a time - that was fun. Hubby has a special way of making it so it tastes the best, and he delights in making my morning cup and bringing it to me in bed. Most mornings we do one of my favorite things - coffee and cuddles. It's the BEST! (He rarely drinks coffee.)

On Sundays, I make a cup of french press coffee in a thermos to take to church and have after communion. Their coffee is ok, but this way I can use my healthier monkfruit sweetener and keto creamer with no junk in it (nutpods).

I've tried stints of replacing my morning coffee with decaf, and after a short period of withdrawal with headaches and fatigue, it was fine. Personally, I didn't experience any of the benefits some of you have described, but I probably didn't do it long enough. I'm curious to try it... someday.

Inspired by this thread and because I've been having trouble sleeping lately, I've gradually replaced 75% of the coffee in my morning double shot with decaf. I still get the enjoyment of my morning espresso, I don't miss the caffeine at all, and I do notice my sleep is improving and mood and energy seem to be more balanced and stable. I appreciate y'all!

I've been off caffeine for about 3 months now. I second the discovery of not crashing at 2-3pm. I'm just... fine, all day long. I never feel sleepy or groggy anymore. When I get up in the morning, I'm just awake, I don't need time to "wake up". If I miss sleep for whatever reason, I can still function the next day, which never used to be the case. I sleep through the night, I never get up to pee anymore. I noticed my urge to pee, the discomfort when you really have to go pee, doesn't occur. Even if I hold it for hours, it's never really that bad. I never have gut issues anymore. I had struggled with IBS most of my life, and it seems, well, gone. Between eating carnivore and not taking in any caffeine, my gut is never upset anymore. I also don't get butterflies like I used to, just for no reason, to feel nervous. When I am nervous about something it doesn't feel as intense and it doesn't affect my guts. This has allowed me to face difficult situations without my body betraying me.

I initially quit caffeine to stop the diuretic effect, but the other effects are enough to make me not want to go back. I don't even feel tempted. I've also stayed away from carbonated drinks, even fizzy water. Now I'm a boring healthy person who just drinks water and milk, and my treat is a cup of decaf, but only on the weekend. Not even sure if I'll keep that up, I might switch to some non-caffeinated tea for a hot drink.

thinkreadwritecode said:

I've been off caffeine for about 3 months now. I second the discovery of not crashing at 2-3pm. I'm just... fine, all day long. I never feel sleepy or groggy anymore. When I get up in the morning, I'm just awake, I don't need time to "wake up". If I miss sleep for whatever reason, I can still function the next day, which never used to be the case. I sleep through the night, I never get up to pee anymore. I noticed my urge to pee, the discomfort when you really have to go pee, doesn't occur. Even if I hold it for hours, it's never really that bad. I never have gut issues anymore. I had struggled with IBS most of my life, and it seems, well, gone. Between eating carnivore and not taking in any caffeine, my gut is never upset anymore. I also don't get butterflies like I used to, just for no reason, to feel nervous. When I am nervous about something it doesn't feel as intense and it doesn't affect my guts. This has allowed me to face difficult situations without my body betraying me.

I initially quit caffeine to stop the diuretic effect, but the other effects are enough to make me not want to go back. I don't even feel tempted. I've also stayed away from carbonated drinks, even fizzy water. Now I'm a boring healthy person who just drinks water and milk, and my treat is a cup of decaf, but only on the weekend. Not even sure if I'll keep that up, I might switch to some non-caffeinated tea for a hot drink.

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I myself only drink water, and a blended water-lemon-ginger root drink in the morning. I don't miss anything at all, I feel so much better. The reason I have women in their 20's interested in me is I have the confidence of a guy almost 50 but I look closer to 35 and there is no doubt genetics play a large role in that, but also the diet and nutrition is important as well. And caffeine drying out the skin, and carbonated drinks doing their damage, are both good things to avoid as we grow older.

With all this said, one thing I have noticed recently, after quitting caffeine, is I am way less on edge. Things that used to bother me, bother me much less. I feel less stressed and less worried about getting things done. When I do get stressed or frustrated, it doesn't feel the same, it feels more like a minor annoyance whereas in the past I would feel full adrenaline rush and rage. Stressing the adrenal glands everyday seems like a very unhealthy activity.

Our society is evil and probably considering caffeine and processed food to be "acceptable", is the first big battle we must have with ourselves against this evil society.

Yes, I had quit caffeine 5 years ago, after long tapering off period, and its been a good decision. No more headaches and dependency. The only thing there is less energy for workouts
I had quit gradually, reducing the dose of caffeine, now I drink decaf green tea daily, produced via non toxic process and drink decaf coffee sometimes. I do drink cocoa recently and my understanding it has some small amount of caffeine but I am not feeling it.

All in all, I don't find it to be worth it to quit. I think the productivity in the morning from greater mental cognition and into 11-1 for workouts is well worth it. Just don't drink coffee after noon, only tea if anything. I do not deny that sleeping and remembering dreams is better without caffeine, even relegated to the morning, but the overall bang for you daily buck I consider better. And I don't buy $5 coffees and such, so it's not a big waste of money by any stretch. The dependency part is less than ideal I admit, but I'll cross those roads if and when I must.

What's funny is I have a similar take on alcohol, not that it clearly isn't worse for you, but rather that they do play off one another if you use both. It's much harder to work the next morning without some coffee early, having gone out, drunk booze and slept suboptimally.

Alcohol is the next on the list of things to quit. I drink very little, don't go out to drink but may be have a glass of wine a couple of times a week, this really does no good and improves nothing. It is a coping mechanism. I got to stop running from whatever I run from when I have a drink. May be do pushups instead
Caffeine also seemed to be irritating to kidneys or bladder, another reason to quit it. I went from several cups of strong coffee per day, to a couple of cups of green tea, down to one cup, then a cup every other day, to no caffeine, I drunk good organic coffee I had brewed without a machine and fancy Japanese loose leaf teas by the way, not some energy drinks. I had been a tea afficionado knowing all kinds of obscure kinds of teas but came to conclusion I can still get the benefits of green tea from quality decaf brands that use CO2 decaffeination process. The only thing I miss is the flavor of the wide assortment of tea leaves

Blade Runner said:

All in all, I don't find it to be worth it to quit. I think the productivity in the morning from greater mental cognition and into 11-1 for workouts is well worth it. Just don't drink coffee after noon, only tea if anything. I do not deny that sleeping and remembering dreams is better without caffeine, even relegated to the morning, but the overall bang for you daily buck I consider better. And I don't buy $5 coffees and such, so it's not a big waste of money by any stretch. The dependency part is less than ideal I admit, but I'll cross those roads if and when I must.

What's funny is I have a similar take on alcohol, not that it clearly isn't worse for you, but rather that they do play off one another if you use both. It's much harder to work the next morning without some coffee early, having gone out, drunk booze and slept suboptimally.

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I felt the same way for years. That without caffeine I wouldn't be able to function as well. I have come to realize, that this mentality prevented me from reaching full confidence. When I relied on a substance to feel fully charged up, in my mind I was never enough without an outside substance. After quitting caffeine, I feel way more confident. I also feel a lot more in control of my emotions. Stressing the adrenal glands caused me to feel a lot more on edge, and if stress hit, I would feel it very deeply.

Now, I just don't have that strong anxiety, even when things don't go right. I have had silly things go wrong, and in the past I might yell out a curse word or get upset, now when it happens, I just sort of chuckle and say "yea, that is about what I should have expected".

Sleeping better, without caffeine, I wake up naturally after less hours of sleep and feel better. I have gone from about 7 to 8 hours of sleep and feeling tired when I get up until I have my morning caffeine, to sleeping 5 to 7 hours and waking up and feeling good.

The one thing I have lost is the intense focus on repetitive tasks. Such as driving, or doing monotonous work, but this loss doesn't come close to the gains I have experienced by quitting caffeine. I do miss the feeling of my heart racing and my energy exploding in the morning, but I realize that is more addiction, and I get by fine without it. I certainly do not miss the afternoon crash, the groggy feeling in the morning when I wake up, or the migraines I would get with air pressure changes or just wearing out by the end of a work week.

I agree, I came to feel as if caffeine had been taking a chunk of my day away to itself and the addiction that it is, controlling me.
If one takes some speed type of drug there would the same effect of higher alerntness, faux energy and addiction.
Try to quit caffeine and immediately get headache when you skip the daily dose, this can not be good. Imagine traveling or being in a hospital and not having access to the fix, ending up miserable and sick.
I'm skeptical of any studies saying caffeine is good for health, caffeine lobby is too big, just like vaccine lobby. My ancestors did not drink caffeine for sure, none of it grows there

jayco said:

I agree, I came to feel as if caffeine had been taking a chunk of my day away to itself and the addiction that it is, controlling me.
If one takes some speed type of drug there would the same effect of higher alerntness, faux energy and addiction.
Try to quit caffeine and immediately get headache when you skip the daily dose, this can not be good. Imagine traveling or being in a hospital and not having access to the fix, ending up miserable and sick.
I'm skeptical of any studies saying caffeine is good for health, caffeine lobby is too big, just like vaccine lobby. My ancestors did not drink caffeine for sure, none of it grows there

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That was in my mind as well. What if things collapse and caffeine is no longer available. How would I feel and get through it? Then I realized, wait, going back a few hundred years and prior, my ancestors never had caffeine, so why should I need it.

I also feel more control over my brainwaves. As in, if I want, I can focus my attention on my prefrontal cortex and feel a sense of confidence and calmness, that I never felt before. So, it is like you learn to tap into the parts of the brain that caffeine would stimulate, but being able to do it consciously, without an outside substance, is a remarkable feeling of self control and exploration.

It_Is_My_Time said:

That was in my mind as well. What if things collapse and caffeine is no longer available. How would I feel and get through it? Then I realized, wait, going back a few hundred years and prior, my ancestors never had caffeine, so why should I need it.

I also feel more control over my brainwaves. As in, if I want, I can focus my attention on my prefrontal cortex and feel a sense of confidence and calmness, that I never felt before. So, it is like you learn to tap into the parts of the brain that caffeine would stimulate, but being able to do it consciously, without an outside substance, is a remarkable feeling of self control and exploration.

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I had lived a lifestyle with a lot travel, obtaining caffeine morning fix to avoid withdrawal headache sometimes had been too much extra hassle and time, since I wanted to avoid unhealthy stuff and spending more money, like bad gas station type coffee or energy drinks. While I love a couple of cups of decaf green tea this is not something I must have and can just have none of days. By the way, I like Ivan Chai/Fireweed herbal tea without caffeine, this stuff grows freely all around Northern latitudes and something my ancestors drank, which I know for a fact.

Came accross interesting article that talks about caffeine addiction, making a lot of points against it, mentioning Jason Christoff too. It talks about now caffeine mass addiction is an instrument of mind control, really. It mentions how rejecting caffeine triggers questioning of self and a lot of stuff pushed by modern society.

It_Is_My_Time said:

That was in my mind as well. What if things collapse and caffeine is no longer available. How would I feel and get through it? Then I realized, wait, going back a few hundred years and prior, my ancestors never had caffeine, so why should I need it.

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You'll just adapt to the new reality like everyone will have to do with many other issues and stressors. In a few weeks things will fix themselves.

jayco said:

Came accross interesting article that talks about caffeine addiction, making a lot of points against it, mentioning Jason Christoff too. It talks about now caffeine mass addiction is an instrument of mind control, really. It mentions how rejecting caffeine triggers questioning of self and a lot of stuff pushed by modern society.

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One can make a case for problems of modernity, but sometimes it goes too far. If one were a pure naturalist we wouldn't do anything that involved (ingesting, using) certain plants even, or getting medications, going for surgeries, etc.

Caffeine is the only truly known ergonomic aid (over the counter type thing, obviously anabolic steroids, etc are too). People perform better on tests, in athletic endeavors, etc and it's one of the most well proven things in all of the scientific method done on humans. It got so important as an addition to energy drinks and supplements that I worked with a guy that was an expert on it and whenever a new "formula" or brand came out as a performance enhance (OTC, etc) came out he would say that it was all caffeine, not the other proprietary stuff that made it work. Sure enough, they all had caffeine in them, proving again his point.

People also live long, healthy lives using it for decades so it's not like it's some nootropic of a crazy strong amphetamine class that "fries your brain" but gives you instant gains, at a cost eventually. You can say what you like or don't like about it but it's pretty clear that it's effective and safe, with some side effects or a dependency profile. For better or worse, we aren't just farming and eating, sleeping, and doing it all over again to survive so modernity largely has focused on psychological activities and cognition related things for work, so it has selected for more caffeine use, especially in the morning. The concomitant use of alcohol has only increased that, as I said previously.

I wonder how many women wouldn't be on SSRIs if they cut out both caffeine and alcohol. Two major plagues on society.

thinkreadwritecode said:

I wonder how many women wouldn't be on SSRIs if they cut out both caffeine and alcohol. Two major plagues on society.

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I think it's a work thing, as I referenced. Once women got into this working thing, they became "like men" and aren't built for that kind of stress, which will inevitably lead to these.