The Invisible Addiction: 4 Surprising Ways Quitting Caffeine Changed My Life
The harmful effects of caffeine most people don’t talk about
“What would you have — tea or coffee?” is the standard question I get asked whenever I visit anyone’s home. Coffee (I’m going to stick to coffee but I’m referring to all caffeinated beverages) is more than a simple beverage — it’s a social phenomenon that connects people.
In America alone, 517 million cups of coffee are consumed per day. Whether it’s a date or a work meeting, coffee is a part of every gathering. But have you ever thought about what that innocent little cup of tea or coffee is doing to us?
Most coffee drinkers are not aware of the adverse side effects it has on their system. And there are good reasons why — if suddenly people stop drinking coffee due to its harmful effects, many food companies may go out of business overnight.
At the end of the day, what many call the “nectar of the gods” is only a drug.
I’ve quit caffeine before but made the mistake of returning to the “innocent” cup of joe now and then, thinking it will not harm.
But since caffeine is a drug, you will build tolerance the more you consume it This means, today, a cup of coffee might be enough to get you going in the morning. Tomorrow you might need 2. And a month later, you might need a pot just to get out of bed.
In my life, I’d reached a point where I found it difficult to go through the day without a cup. Having to depend on an artificial energy source was not something I liked. And so, I decided to quit.
Quitting is hard at first, mainly because of the withdrawal symptoms. But once those had subdued, I found my life had changed drastically. The changes I noticed made me realize how caffeine adversely affects many aspects of our body and mind.
A Constant Stream of Energy
You’d think you’ll have less energy after quitting caffeine but it’s not true. Let’s understand it in detail.
First of all, caffeine doesn’t give you energy; it merely masks your tiredness. It blocks the adenosine receptors in the brain that makes you feel sleepy. Blocking adenosine ignites the central nervous system and releases fight-or-flight hormones, like adrenaline and dopamine. Being a nervous system stimulant, it also increases your dopamine levels which improves your mood for a while.
But as soon as the effects of caffeine wear off, you experience what coffee drinkers call, a “caffeine crash.” To overcome this crash, we may rush for another cup of coffee, and so the cycle continues.
When you quit caffeine, you will find that all your tiredness will come to the fore, at least initially. This is the dreaded withdrawal phase. All the built-up adenosine that caffeine was blocking will now make you feel lethargic.
You will almost certainly end up sleeping more (and better) to flush that adenosine out of your brain. But once you're through that phase, you will experience a steady flow of energy throughout the day.
Regular coffee drinkers usually have trouble sleeping or at least don’t get the best quality of sleep they can. As a result, they wake up tired and reach out for another cup of joe — a vicious cycle indeed.
Once you put an end to this cycle, you will wake up feeling much more refreshed. Even after a day or two without caffeine, I started to sleep like a baby and woke up refreshed, and earlier than usual without the aid of an alarm clock.
Lower Anxiety and Increased Calmness
Many studies have talked about the anxiety-inducing effects of caffeine. In some cases, normal, healthy people suffered from panic attacks just after consuming 500mg of caffeine (about 5 cups of coffee).
Coffee drinkers often have a background hum of anxiety that never stops — this is called “caffeinism.” In fact, in 1978, researchers couldn’t differentiate between a person who was suffering from chronic anxiety and one who was just having too much caffeine.
For me, life runs at 1.5x or 2x speed when I consume caffeine. I find myself frantically running from one task to the other and worrying over the slightest of problems in my day. I found it harder to relax in my meditations and take my mind away from the day’s tasks.
It took me some time to realize that my coffee consumption was one of the main culprits. Since caffeine affects the autonomic nervous system, it leads to effects like a racing heart, panicky feelings, and increased anxiousness if you’re sensitive to the substance.
After getting off coffee, I can focus on things for a much longer time, while still being relaxed.
Better Bowel Movement
Several studies have shown that coffee can activate contradictions in your colon and intestinal muscles. These contractions push the contents down towards the rectum, which is the final section of your digestive tract. And by the way, this is also true for decaf coffee.
Quitting caffeine leads to better bowel movements and fewer trips to the washroom!
Reduced Stress and Appetite
Since caffeine makes you feel full, you might think a lack of it will make you want to eat more. But that is only one side of the story. There’s also a subtle relationship between caffeine and our appetite.
Caffeine raises cortisol (the “stress hormone”), and cortisol increases appetite. This study found that when faced with a stressful situation, the stress response in coffee drinkers was higher than in others.
Caffeine changes our brains in such a way that even little stresses appear to be huge threats. When you’re stressed, you want to eat more to reduce that stress. The link between stress and food is subconscious, even if you don’t identify yourself as an “emotional eater.”
Whenever I’d have a cup of coffee after lunch, I’d feel hungry much sooner than if I didn’t. It made me reach out for cookies and other snacks which I know I shouldn’t be having.
Having quit caffeine, I find myself satiated all through the afternoon until it’s time to have dinner.
What About Energy?
If you’re a regular coffee drinker, I can understand how your energy levels must be dependent on your caffeine intake. However, we don’t have to live like this. There are many ways we can replenish our energy without caffeine:
- Exercise: Exercise releases norepinephrine that makes you feel awake and endorphins to improve your mood. Even a simple walk or a few jumping jacks are a great way to energize.
- Drink More Water: Fatigue, brain fog, and confusion are common signs of dehydration. Drinking more water keeps you feeling refreshed and energized.
- Take a Power Nap: A quick 20-min nap after lunch gives me enough energy to continue for the rest of the day. And it doesn’t come with a crash like coffee. Be wary of napping longer than that since it may disrupt your sleep at night.
- Proper Diet: Avoid processed foods, sugar, and excess carbs. Fill your diet with proteins, leafy greens, and fruits to feel lighter and energized throughout the day.
- Go out In the Sun: Spending time in the sun vitalizes your cells, helps your body produce vitamin D, and promotes better sleep at night by regulating your circadian rhythm.
- Breathing Exercises: Since most people don’t breathe deeply, enough oxygen doesn’t reach the brain. The result? Fatigue and lethargy. Just a few seconds of simple, deep, belly breathing can leave you feeling significantly energized.
Final Thoughts
If you’re still reading, I think you resonate with what I said on some level. My goal was to make you aware of the side effects of something you consume every day — effects we overlook simply because caffeine is so prevalent.
If you feel “addicted” to caffeine in a way that you can’t go without it, maybe it’s worthwhile to try quitting (or cutting back) and see if it changes anything. If nothing, you will at least strengthen your willpower!
That said, I now give the baton to you in the hope that you make the best decision for your health.
