Cutting out caffeine.

some people get headaches, some don't, I did, after a couple of days of no caffeine they stop and the world looks a different colour, more energy in the mornings

Kicking sugar was the hardest one

well worth it

A quick google of caffeine withdrawal symptoms suggests headaches is a common one and that it can continue for about a week. Maybe try and cut it out more slowly to reduce the effects?

Typed this while drinking coffee 😀

Yes, it may well be a lack of caffeine. I had them when I gave it up, lasted a few days, maybe a week.

My experience - I'm not going back to caffeine...

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/little-changes-big-impact/

I get them (and crippling lethargy) for 2-3 days after I cut back. Usually after a period of work with coffee/catering on tap.

Paracetamol works, but so does a cup of tea, even decaff tea sometimes has enough caffeine. Just have a cup as and when it's needed.

When I stopped having caffeine I had headaches for about a week. Made me more determined to keep off it.

I had savage headaches for 1 to 2 weeks after giving it up. TBF, they made me more determined to sack it off if that's how it made me feel. Feel a lot better for it... and they do clear...

My caffeine habit is a bit more modest now. There was a time in the past though when I was hyper jittery because I was drinking way, way too much. It was wrecking my sleep amongst other things. I went cold turkey and the headaches were the worst I've ever had. So yep, it's highly likely they are caused by caffeine withdrawal. I enjoy coffee and tea far too much to cut them out completely. I've learned that with 3 or 4 cups a day (tea and coffee combined) and none past 2 or 3pm I can enjoy the lift they give me without it affecting my sleep. I think though that the rate the body metabolizes caffeine varies significantly from person to person so ymmv.

I cut out Caffeine a year ago as I had to cut out sugar, and couldn't tolerate Tea or Coffee without half a spoonful.
No side effects whatsoever!

I gradually cut my caffeine down, then cut it out completely about 6 months ago. No side effects at all.

I do feel miles better for doing it though. Much more stable rather than peaks and troughs throughout the day and its massively helped with my anxiety.

All I need to do now is ween myself off all the cocaine I'm taking instead

Good luck with it

Timely. I gave up last Monday for medical reasons (chronic migraine, Reynauds)
I'm currently on my 7th straight day of migraine. It's horrendous.
Not a coffee drinker but often 4-5 cups of strong tea in the morning.
7 straight days of triptans is not a good idea I'm the slightest, bit it's the only way one stayed functional. This can't last much longer, can it? :/

2 weeks of savage headaches for me but the first 3-4 days was the worst! Feel better for it now.

Good luck but I couldn’t cope without my double double shot of caffeine/cappuccino in the morning (more like lunchtime).

Good luck but I couldn’t cope without my double double shot of caffeine/cappuccino in the morning

Have you considered why you need caffeine in the morning? Is it perhaps because you are tired, perhaps you are tired as you don't get as much deep sleep as you need, perhaps because of caffeine?

I thought I was a champion sleeper, until I gave up caffeine. Now I wake up quicker and fresher than ever before.

For those who have done it, do you still drink decaffeinated coffee?

I ask, because I like coffee but I'm thinking of giving up caffeine. I write this in the middle of a big afternoon slump where I think I need coffee or a sleep, but don't want to make myself a coffee because I'd like to sleep well tonight...!

I'm down to 1-2 caffeinated coffees a day, and 3-4 decaff. My tendency to the jitters/anxiety has decreased, no side effects.

Have you considered why you need caffeine in the morning? Is it perhaps because you are tired, perhaps you are tired as you don’t get as much deep sleep as you need, perhaps because of caffeine?

I enjoy it as I have spms and it helps me to get moving (in more ways than one - very beneficial) when I wake up, yeah I’m tired in the morning but that’s nothing to do with caffeine, more to do with getting a few hours sleep a night due to muscle spasms walking me up every hour or so despite 700iu of botox injections into leg muscles every 12 weeks and 16mg to 24 mg of tizanidine every night.

i struggle to function without coffee
tempted to try these mushroom coffees i keep seeing...

My experience – I’m not going back to caffeine…

Little changes – big impact…

One take away from that thread was not having your caffeine very first thing. See if you can leave it an hour or two after you've woken up. I think that may help in reducing dependency.

this is an excellent idea
I did the same when stopping smoking, broke the routine of when to have a cigarette

For those who have done it, do you still drink decaffeinated coffee?

Yes - I just have to have a drink to hand at all times it seems!! 🙂

Having typed around that pop-up-ad coffee machine irritation for x milligrams of cafeine I'm buying a jar of Leclerc Eco+ chicoree café and never drinking real coffee again 😋

your cortisol levels are highest about 6am, so if you have a coffee then you will only get more excited, and the crash will be bigger.
Im trying waiting till 10am or noon, when the cortisol levels start sinking,to have a coffee.
Like the OP, im hoping to improve sleep

I recently had a prostate related health scare. I was weeing excessively. I was also drinking more or less 3 litres of caffetiere coffee daily, including a mug at midnight before bed! I always sleep well and have 2 years of garm,in watch data to confirm it is good sleep too. Just need to pee often. Anyway, after visit to doc I decided to eliminate the coffee from the equation so gave up completely from 1 day to the next. I had a mild headache for the first afternoon but nothing after that. I never even missed it. Switched to fruit tea and water and less of it. Didn't make 1 iota of difference to how often or when I need to pee so after 3-4 weeks I started having a coffeee again. By the end of that week I was back to the 3 lites again. And still sleep like a baby, and piss like a horse!

I was ill for a few days, no coffee in those days, the headaches lasted about 14 days, truly savage. Been coffee absent for 3 months no headaches or pants to return to drinking coffee.

I’ve given up twice and had headaches both times. Made absolutely **** all difference to my energy levels, sleep or anything else. So I’m back on it like a demon!

Gave up Caffeine in November. Headache for about a week but I sleep so much better now.

Lidl do a nice filter decaf coffee. Sde by side it's not as nice but when you've been drinking it for a while you stop noticing. It's a bit like the difference between Guinness v Guinness 0.0.

Not sure I have any more energy than I had before but I can't see any point is going back to caffeine. I've not really missed it.

I used to drink way too much coffee, not sure how much but when working from home would make countless cups of instant a day. Several years ago I thought it was time to quit, so went cold turkey and developed the headaches for a few days. I think after a week they cleared up, and I did feel more alert first thing in the morning. Over a couple of years I have reintroduced coffee, have now bought a decent machine and grinder, and just drink a couple of espressos first thing, and then maybe a longer V60 drink later in the morning, apart from that just water during the day. No instant coffee in the house anymore. For me this level of caffeine seems fine, no impact on sleep as far as I can tell.

Interestingly there seems to be a reasonable amount of research on the benefits of coffee in a diet. The ZOE podcast series has an interesting episode with James Hoffman. Worth a listen if you want to justify your coffee intake!

I quit a few years back, I was mainlining industrial strength coffee and going to bed vibrating. It's a shock to the system for a few days then it pans out. These days I'll have a cup of coffee or a couple of teas as a treat rather than by habit.

For those who have done it, do you still drink decaffeinated coffee?

I ask, because I like coffee but I’m thinking of giving up caffeine.

The thing with decaf is, there's a lot of shit coffee out there. I found Dowe Egberts to be almost indistinguishable from four star, with Kenco a close second.

i struggle to function without coffee

That right there is addiction. You're struggling to function because of the downer from your last fix.

I’ve given up twice and had headaches both times. Made absolutely **** all difference to my energy levels, sleep or anything else. So I’m back on it like a demon!

Me too. My headaches lasted for about two weeks plus I had a few days of just general lethargy and random body aches mixed in. But no real improvement to my life after that so I'm back on caffeine.

My daily drinking habits are:

• Two cups of de-caff tea between getting up and around 10am
• Two cups of decent, strong, caffeinated coffee between 10ish and 1ish, then
• A few more decaff teas over the rest of the day.

I've found no real difference to sleep patterns that I can attribute to caffeine but:

(A) sleeping in the same bed as Mrs Vlad makes my sleep much worse

(B) sleeping after alcohol makes my sleep much worse

(C) sleeping whilst stressed about something in work or, more generally, going to bed with too active a mind makes my sleep worse.

A wee update. Very slight headache today but much better than Mon/Tues. Ironically I had a very bad night's sleep last night, went to bed very early because of the headache, then woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. But I don't feel too tired today so onwards and upwards. For what it's worth I quite like Aldis decaf ground.

Anyone else getting the STW "Double espresso" video embedded in the middle of this thread? 😀

Good interview with a specialist about caffeine on this recent BBD pod: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001w75l

I'm trying having my first (and only) cuppa slightly later after hearing it.

Ive just ordered a load of chicory based stuff from amazon, to try... and some mushroom powder.. because why not

Reminds me, years ago, as in the late 80s/early 90s, I used to have a coffee substitute called Barley Cup which I don't remember as being too bad. Also camp coffee which I think was chicory based which is caffeine free.

Might have to try them again.