Weaning off of Caffeine: A Journey
I’ve had a cup of coffee every day for the last 5 years. Here’s what happened when I tried to change that.
I love coffee.
Not necessarily for its effects, though I do appreciate the jolt when I need to get work done, but for the ritual of it. The taste and smell, so vibrant against the morning quiet, the careful art of brewing the perfect cup each day, and that first satisfying sip — there’s nothing quite like it. The entire practice oozes hygge and joy. I’ve discussed this sentiment frequently with habitual coffee drinker friends who all seem to agree. It’s about the whole package, not just the caffeine.
But over time, it also became about the caffeine. I’ve had some form of coffee every single day since 2015. I used to have a ridiculous habit of picking up Philz Coffee every morning on my way to work. Or if I was running late, I’d grab a cup of the even more egregiously expensive Saint Frank coffee on campus at work. Eventually in quarantine, I’d learn to make my own lattes at home. Still, coffee, being the quintessential thing to do with co-workers and friends, was always around me even if I didn’t drink it in the morning or buy it from a cafe.
“Hey! Coffee + catch up today?”
“Let’s grab coffee and go through our Q1 strategy!”
Sometimes, I’d have 2–3 cups a day. (At 3 cups, I was always sorely regretful. I was jittery beyond belief and often nervous I might just pass out.) And these were not just cups of no-calorie black coffee. I solely drank coffee with additional sugar in it: mochas, lattes, frappes galore. At one point, I made the mistake of looking up the nutrition facts for my daily sugar and caffeine mixture: ~500 calories. Needless to say, the drinks gave me incredible energy. I became friends with all the baristas at the coffee shops I frequented. I also became dependent on coffee to get through the day.
Emotionally, coffee set the tone for my day — an expectation that only set me up for disappointment. If baristas made my coffee with slightly different ratios or if some of the ice had melted and watered down the flavor, my day was ruined. I was fiercely protective of my joy and became easily irritated when the cup didn’t live up to my expectations.
Physiologically, I started to feel the effects of caffeine withdrawal when I wouldn’t have coffee at my pre-determined time. If it was past 8AM and I hadn’t had a drop of caffeine (e.g. on weekends), I’d get a splitting headache. An inherently uncomfortable feeling would gnaw at me until I had it, like something was missing or out of place. When I’d go on vacations or group trips, I’d need to plan ahead for my early morning coffee excursions, sometimes with others, more often alone. It was, simply, a huge pain.
So, I decided that as my last act of 2020, I would lean into the suck that is caffeine withdrawal and get out.
My strategy was to reduce caffeine intake little by little instead of going cold turkey. I logged my symptoms each day. Here’s what happened in case you’re looking to do the same:
Monday (day 0): Had a standard 8oz cup of coffee with a friend, full caf. High energy, “normal” day.
Tuesday (day 1): Brewed myself a half cup of coffee, essentially cutting my caffeine intake by 50%. Found myself sweating (not normal for me) and with a pounding headache in the morning that subsided after a 7 mile run, only to resurface shortly after I came home and showered. Alertness was not severely impacted, probably due to exercise.
Wednesday (day 2): Another half cup day. This was when the lethargy really set in. Slight headache, but mostly lots of brain fog and the feeling of going through the day in slow motion. No energy at all, felt like I was missing a meal.
Thursday (day 3): A third cup today. Still felt like I was wading through mental molasses. No headache, but general slowness and tiredness throughout the day. Found myself getting sleepy at 9PM, which was new (I’ve always been a night owl).
Friday (day 4): Decaf 8oz cup from Philz today. Decaf has slightly less than 10% of the caffeine of a regular fully caffeinated cup, so I thought it was an appropriate step down from the ~30% mark. Symptoms mirrored Day 3 — no headache, but extremely exhausted throughout the day. Lots of yawns and cloudiness.
Saturday (day 5): Decaf Starbucks. Mental fog significantly lifted, though I still felt that I was operating at 80%, not 100. No headache, generally feeling pretty good overall.
Sunday (day 6): No coffee. My first clean day in 5 years. Not going to lie, it felt pretty great. Au naturel! I finally felt back at 100% energy wise and mentally. The step down from decaf to no coffee is pretty minimal, so this was not a huge surprise to me given my trajectory, but still a huge win for me personally.
As a naturally energetic person, I was surprised by how much energy I was deriving from caffeine. With my average 1 cup, I never felt artificially boosted during the day. I used to boast that caffeine had no effect on my energy level since finishing my cup later in the day didn’t make it harder for me to fall asleep at night. Turns out, everyone’s body reaches a “sweet spot” with consistent caffeine intake. Unlike how the body behaves with other substances in which it eventually requires a higher and higher dosage to achieve the same effect, the body only develops a partial tolerance to caffeine and can plateau to a consistent level in perpetuity. For me, feeling “100%” energy-wise was drinking the caffeine equivalent of 1 full cup. Significantly more and I’d start to feel sick or extremely jittery.
Knowing this, my goal is not to cut out coffee entirely. Like I noted at the outset, I love coffee! For me, the best outcome is to enjoy coffee when I want to, but minimize dependence such that I feel completely fine if I skip a week or two. Now that I’ve finally re-baselined, I’ll be limiting my caffeine intake when not needed (e.g. weekends, non-heavy work days) and saving my full caf days for trying times. Now looking forward to exploring the world of decaf!
