Cutting down on caffeine

Former Member · February 2020

Hey all,

I'm starting to realise that I'm consuming more and more caffeine to stay alert. I'm heading towards 5 cups to get the desired effect, I think I might be immune at this point! I get on average 7 hours of sleep but I always have trouble falling asleep. If I'm not on my feet running around conducting research, I'm in the library studying, writing my thesis, or assignments.

I really do need to cut down on caffeine but I'm worried that it will be difficult and have an effect on my ability to get work done. But in all honesty, my productivity has slipped the past 3 weeks so I'm playing catch up with little success 😅

Salix

Siena · February 2020

Heyy!

you hVe probably already thought about gradually reducing how much caffine you have. That could really help cause may hardly not notice and wont get withdrawl symptoms ( if you can from caffeine )

Theres a lot of benefits to drinking less caffine. I think. Like caffeine can lower your mood and make sleep worse and not good for physcal health and stuff. I think. Idk.

I dont know that much cause i dont coffee to tea or much caffiene. So when i had a red bull not that long ago randomly, i thought i was literally going to pass out.lol. So it does not seem that healthy to have lot of caffiene and not good for heart rate and can make you more anxious. It also just makes you so tired a while after wards and end up having opposite affect. Can be hard finding the motivation though
ah sorry probably just said everything that you already knew

Millie2787 · February 2020

Hey Salix

Its good that you’ve began to notice that you may be coming reliant on caffeine to help you get through the day and that’s perfectly okay I know a lot of people do.

Shaunie is right be may be worth slowly cutting down cup by cup so say have 4 for a few weeks then reduce it down to 3 etc or even to begin with I’m not sure how much coffee you put in each cup and weather you have milk or not you could start with reducing the amount of coffee and increasing the amount of milk.

in terms of sleep it might be good to try and get yourself into a sleep hygiene routine things like turning your phone off 15 minutes before settling into bed and reading a book and maybe even trying some sleep mindfulness fo try and relax your body and mind to help you settle

JustV · February 2020

Just chipping in here as someone who has recently kicked caffeine.

I was getting a lot of caffeine every day in the form of Coke (cola). I felt like it was really helping me too, and as well as just being delicious it seemed to be helping me to focus when I needed to focus. I'm pretty sure I've got some form of ADHD and I know people with ADHD tend to self-medicate with things like caffeine, so that was on my mind as well.

When I gave it up, I got pretty bad headaches at first (I went cold turkey - wouldn't necessarily recommend!) which I think were part of the withdrawal process. But they stopped after a few days, and once I was drinking something nice without caffeine (Fanta Zero at first) I had no craving for Coke at all. I sometimes drink the caffeine-free one now and it's way better.

I really do need to cut down on caffeine but I'm worried that it will be difficult and have an effect on my ability to get work done.

So, the interesting with this is that, when I gave it up I actually found myself more productive. I think because I was generally feeling better - I was seeping well, I was drinking more water, I wasn't spending loads on Coke or dealing with the headaches, and because of all that my mood improved. And because my mood improved, so did my productivity and general quality of life.

It's also a proven thing that, once you're addicted to caffeine, all it does is bring you up to a normal functional level of awakeness - it doesn't actually give you a boost. It does when you're not addicted, but when you are it just lifts you out of the withdrawal and doesn't give you anything.

I also second what everyone else has said here about sleep hygiene and cutting down gradually if you need to. I've recently done some work on my morning and evening routines and now I'm getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night. @Aidan's point about cutting down in later afternoon/evening is also a good one; caffeine has a half-life of about five hours, meaning half of it leaves your system after that amount of time.

Keep us posted on what you decide, and sorry for the ramble! Can tell this is all fresh in my head.

Former Member · February 2020

Hello everybody thank you so much for your replies!

I have made notes and taken on the advice to not have any caffeine in the evening. I've also decided to brush up on my sleep hygiene 👍 I'm actually noticing differences in my alertness and mental wellbeing.

@Millie2787 that's not a bad idea actually, I think I might try having weaker tea or coffee., 😲

Cold turkey oh lord😱 you gotta be made of the strong stuff to do that 😵 @Aidan cutting down slowly seems like a great start too @Shaunie

Nooo way! This whole time I thought it was giving me an extra boost 😅 @Mike rambles are more than welcome here, I'm curious to know what your colleagues relationship with caffeine is like and how it affect concentration, productivity and sleep 🧐

Salix

Millie2787 · February 2020

Just a thought too that if having a cup of tea or coffee is part of your routine as I know some people don’t like like to change it - ( I know I don’t 😂) have you thought about getting caffeine free coffee and I think there possibly even Tea bags ?

Cutting down on caffeine

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