Index»
addiction
»
caffeine
»
easiest
»
stop
»
the
»
to
»
way
»
The Easiest Way to Stop Caffeine Addiction
The Easiest Way to Stop Caffeine Addiction
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Like any other drug addiction, caffeine addiction is not easy to overcome. This is because caffeine affects our emotions and behaviors, impairing our judgement and wit and consequently making the struggle against it even more difficult.
Decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine. I have switched to it and ended using large quantity of decaffeinated coffee powder in my kettle to have the same hit. I was just ingesting the same amount caffeine plus the unwanted effect of coffee acidity.
So what is the easiest method?
As I have explained, the “cold turkey” methods problems are the withdrawal symptoms while the “Cut back gradually” culprit is the craving and the impossibility of following the plan rigorously.
The easiest method that has worked for me is this:
For a lot of people the word caffeine means literally coffee, while in fact, caffeine does not occur solely in coffee beans but in a wide array of both natural and human made foods and beverages.
Caffeine is present in coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts, yerba maté, guarana berries, cola drinks, energy drinks and to a much lesser extent in chocolate. Caffeine effects may differ slightly depending on its source, and whether it is natural or synthetic. I have personally noticed that Caffeine found in some coffee beans such as Robusta, is much more potent than caffeine from Arabica beans while the effect of the synthetic caffeine normally added in cola soda drinks, was the softer form I have encountered, which may be because of its synthetic nature.
Caffeine addiction
Caffeine is an addictive drug, more addictive than marijuana, even close to nicotine and cocaines addiction level. That means cutting caffeine cold turkey will triggers several withdrawal symptoms ranging from severe headache or back pain to serious depression-like symptoms.
Personally, I have quitted caffeine consumption several times during a 10 year period, but never succeed to stick with my abstinence plan more than two months. I obviously tried all methods before finding the right solution.
Cutting caffeine methods:
1- Cold turkey:
This method consists of stopping caffeine abruptly; it works like a charm but gives you the strongest withdrawal symptoms. Mine was so severe that I stayed on my bed one week, back pain, depression, annoying tingling sensations in my legs and flu-like symptoms to name but a few. You can try this way if you don’t have a job, attend a school, or you have any social duties that may be ruined by your sudden anger.
2- Cutting back gradually:
By cutting back caffeine gradually, you will let your body to accommodate itself to the absence of caffeine gradually. As appealing as it may seem to be, this method has its own downside too, it requires a strict discipline, if you are a real caffeine freak then you will not be able to cut caffeine intake steadily and smoothly. As with cocaine or nicotine, once your body tastes its first matutinal dose of its cherished drug, it starts claiming more of it; the craving that follows the first caffeine ingestion is the biggest problem. It is perable to take your first coffee hit later rather than taking it in the early minutes of your day.
3- Switching to decaffeinated coffee:Decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine. I have switched to it and ended using large quantity of decaffeinated coffee powder in my kettle to have the same hit. I was just ingesting the same amount caffeine plus the unwanted effect of coffee acidity.
So what is the easiest method?
As I have explained, the “cold turkey” methods problems are the withdrawal symptoms while the “Cut back gradually” culprit is the craving and the impossibility of following the plan rigorously.
The easiest method that has worked for me is this:
- Switch to green tea or black tea as a primary source of caffeine in the morning, avoid coffee in the morning.
- Decrease your amount of coffee during the day, until you stop it. But meanwhile, keep increasing tea intake during the day. At this stage, green tea has to replace coffee.
- Remove from your home and environment if possible any trace of coffee. Your cabinet must contain only tea.
- Commence exercising and start also decreasing your tea intake as well. Sport helps regulate body hormones levels. This would assist your body to overcome withdrawal symptoms.
- Continue exercising and decreasing tea consumption, at this moment your breakfast should be 100% free of caffeine, opt for healthy breakfast such oatmeal, fried eggs, bacon, barley soup, fruit juice. If you like to drink something hot, try Rooibos tea.
- Stick with your caffeine-free plan tightly for at least for 6 months in order to allow your body to forget caffeine.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.