![]() ![]() ![]() Similar to day one and two, by bedtime I was ready for a good night of sleep. I still thought about coffee and knew small bouts of fatigue could have been eased with a little caffeine. Albeit not running circles around my office, I did have enough momentum to power through the work day and get to the gym. Day 3įinally on day three, the proverbial clouds started to part and my energy was back up. While it may have not been my best gym session, I did break a sweat to help my body detox. Be that as it may, I ate a big pre-workout meal of oatmeal and protein powder which provided a boost to start my workout. I admittedly missed out on my usual trip to the gym on the first day of my caffeine cleanse, so I made it a point to resume my workout schedule after work on the second day.Įasier said than done, seeing as I typically begin my workouts with a cup of coffee, energy drink, or caffeine-laden pre-workout supplement. I decided to substitute my usual overload of caffeine with small meals every three to four hours to help keep my body running on healthy sources of fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and I also drank a lot of water to keep hydrated. The throbbing inside of my head finally started to subside but a lack of energy and lethargy persisted into that second day without coffee. Unfortunately, my withdrawal nightmare was not limited to that first day. If there was anything advantageous about that first day without caffeine, it was that when I was ready for bed I drifted off to sleep pretty quickly. The flood of adenosine and dopamine when caffeine is removed from the equation causes our brain chemistry to go haywire. By blocking adenosine receptors, caffeine triggers the release of more dopamine and adrenaline, leading to that feeling of alertness experienced by the 80 percent of Americans who drink coffee regularly. The withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing stemmed from caffeine’s effect on adenosine, a molecule in the brain responsible for rest and tiredness.Īfter caffeine is absorbed by the small intestine, similar to alcohol, it makes its way to the brain where, due to its similarity to the adenosine molecule, it can fit into its receptors. The latter half of my day I was fighting off a headache, lack of concentration, lethargic tendencies, an upset stomach, and irritability that I desperately tried to keep at bay. However, just after noon (around 24 hours since my last cup of coffee) the dreaded caffeine withdrawal headache started to set in.īefore you question the legitimacy of caffeine withdrawal, you should know it was recently deemed a mental disorder in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Now, I’m not sure if it was the natural sugar, fructose, found in the apple or a placebo effect, but I did experience a sudden burst of energy that I was lacking that morning. In hopes of avoiding a lack of productivity throughout the work day, I heeded a coworker’s advice to try an apple in replacement of coffee. Getting out of bed in the morning for me is usually driven by the promise of coffee waiting in the kitchen, so needless to say, the snooze button on my alarm got pressed a couple of times.Ī long shower before work helped alleviate some of my grogginess, but something was still off. That first day without coffee, I was plagued by a persistent headache, but let’s start at the beginning. Here’s what happened after I gave up coffee for a week: Day 1įirst thing's first, caffeine withdrawal is very real. After years of pushing the limits of my caffeine intake, I felt it was time to see what toll it was having on my body. It seems that every other study involving caffeine is either praising its health benefits or condemning it for leading to various health concerns such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Part of my inclination to keep guzzling down the cups of java has been based on inconsistent evidence. Although I fully understand how damaging so much caffeine can be for my body, let’s face it, when the going gets tough, the tough drink coffee. ![]() A normal day for me can sometimes consist of five to six cups of coffee, just to get me from one task to the other. I will be the first to admit that my caffeine addiction is one of the most unhealthy aspects of my life. ![]()
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