View Full Version : time to work on the caffeine
I am feeling really solid on the quitting smoking. Now my brain is more sensitive to caffeine and I had a horrible night sleeping over the weekend. I am used to drinking caffeine right before bed and not having an issue. Apparently you can't do that your entire life! Eventually I want to work on sugar, we will see. So far no one has suffered bodily harm in this process of cleaning up my health.
Let's see how it goes, I had a long camp day today and people called out and I just ended up staying the whole 12 hours. I think I get one starbucks for teaching meditation group after this. Maybe tomorrow I can start.
iris lilies
4-3-17, 9:22pm
Ah yes,how I loved those late nights sitting up drinking coffee and smoking.
Welcome me to middle age. I can't have coffee after noon or it keeps me awake.
Coffee after 8pm makes me fall asleep, but I have odd brain chemistry.
I have, for many years now, been steadfast in the belief that I should only drink coffee in the morning, water after lunch, and beer or wine after 5pm. On the rare occasions that I go out for coffee in the afternoon (always work business entertainment related) I relearn why I follow this system when I can't fall asleep that night.
I used to work with someone whose brain chemistry must've been similar to bae's. One of her favorite things in life was the time spent having coffee with her husband late in the evening, after their son went to bed so they could actually have an adult conversation. Of course she also took her daily shower in the evening before going to bed, so maybe she was just a wackjob... :-)
Chicken lady
4-4-17, 7:23am
Are you trying to kick the caffein completely, or just limit it?
I've given up coffee as an experiment a couple of times--but really, I don't see the point. I have 1-2 cups every morning; a nice start to the day.
"Ah yes,how I loved those late nights sitting up drinking coffee and smoking."
I have the fondest of memories of just the same thing, often preceded by beer drinking. Those were the good times.
Are you trying to kick the caffein completely, or just limit it?
Cut back, and I do not drink any coffee. I have a super sensitive stomach so it is all tea (a soda on a rare occasion that I am getting a serious headache). I really love Fast Lane tea from Celestial Seasonings, more caffeine than a cup of coffee. You can only get it at the tea factory in Boulder or mail order.
I am thinking only green tea in the afternoons to start.
Chicken lady
4-4-17, 9:34am
Sounds like a good start. Replacing is also a great approach. I've been trying to cut mine back to coffee in the morning plus whatever chocolate I happen to eat. I quit soda at home (I will still drink it when we are out, particularly at restaurants that I know have "chemical" tasting water.). But some afternoons I need a cup of regular tea.
I may make the cut-off time 5:00 since my day really gets busy at 3-ish. It is good to have a nice cup of tea with creamer before it gets so busy. At restaurants I try to get iced tea, it is hard because I love the bubbly soda thing. But I can only have diet soda and that has lots of chemicals in it. I don't get sick however like I do with high fructose corn syrup. Some of the super trendy places are putting in fancy soda with sugar instead.
ApatheticNoMore
4-4-17, 12:42pm
starbucks after teaching meditation, oh man, pretty funny, that sounds like jitters after relaxing. I wouldn't try to quit sugar right now, not because it's health food, but just not taking on too much at once (ha they even tell people to replace a cigarette with an M&M, well if one isn't prone to diabetes it's probably an improvement). Anyway one thing at a time.
But yea I'd cut back on caffeine IF it has symptoms. There is a real point to cutting back on caffeine if one is suffering from it, the body doesn't lie, and it's not without symptoms for everyone. But I've tried to go cold turkey and was tired and depressed, so one cup of tea a day is what I'm trying to do, sometimes give in and have two. Never after 2pm. Green tea in the afternoons sounds like a good strategy for you. If one is just after a nice tea flavor Roobios works and can stand up to cream/milk if that is one's thing.
Oh alcohol after 5pm seems like a horrible idea, because it also disturbs sleep (puts you to sleep but then wakes you up in the middle of the night). Alcohol should be for weekend brunches (or at least Fri/Sat nights when getting up early is not a priority).
I am in the process of decaffeinating myself, once again. I probably do this every year or so. When I worked the 6am shift at Wholefoods, there was just NO WAY I could stay off caffeine but out here in New Mexico I find myself drinking A LOT of coffee as I get my morning started. I've always made 50% decaf to 50% regular, but in the past few weeks I have been having a lot of stomach troubles and I suspect that I just can't handle the coffee anymore. So it goes. I have been slowly reducing the amount of caffeinated coffee I add to the decaf; today I was down to one scoop reg to five scoops decaf. I did have a headache all day yesterday but it could have been from allergies too.
I love coffee and I hate that I need to give it up! I am trying to get used to the idea of drinking tea instead (non-caffeinated of course). All I know is next week when I totally cut out the caffeine, I am going feel crappy for at least three days. My body is very sensitive to that. I would never ever be able to go cold turkey!
I drink coffee with unsweetened almond milk and figure the health benefits outweigh the risks, but I do try to only have some before noon and switch to tea after that, which I drink with nothing added to it.
I drink coffee with unsweetened almond milk and figure the health benefits outweigh the risks, but I do try to only have some before noon and switch to tea after that, which I drink with nothing added to it.
I vary among unsweetened almond, cashew, and coconut, and add a healthy swig of heavy cream to my iced coffee. I'm with you; I think coffee is as healthy a drink as any.
SiouzQ good point on the work schedule thing. I am not looking to cut it totally out as long as I have this job. Plus I already do not drink any alcohol, gave up smoking, rarely have soda or sweets, ya know I feel like I need some bad habits if I am not going to move to a monastery. However the sleeping thing means I do need to adjust.
Last night kinda failed but got a little better. Lately I am super into drawing celtic knots so I had a hard time turning off and going to sleep, which was only partially caffeine and partially trying to get this one shape to work. I actually had to work very hard at turning my mind off, not typical for me.
Well I went overboard with the coffee, encouraged by news reports that 4 to 5 cups a day are good, and by the fact that it speeds up metabolism. I've lost 8 pounds so far, but now when I sleep in on weekends I wake up with withdrawal headaches, so I need to change.
ApatheticNoMore
9-17-17, 9:09am
wow 4-5 cups a day. I drink yet 1-2 cups of tea a day yet, I experiment days of doing without and seeing if it helps insominiac tendencies but it really seems to have nothing to do with that (although I'm sure with 4-5 cups of coffee I could probably cause caffeine induced insomnia) and I have honestly no idea what actually causes my sleep to be better or worse (yes not eating after 8:30 or so helps a bit, but only so much ...). I'd love to cut back caffeine more for my health, but then I'd need to sleep more and deeper first or I won't be able to, and I don't know how, and it doesn't seem just cutting caffeine will get me there.
I've had occasion to cut back on caffeine, but right now have some self imposed rules that seem to be working. Coffee after about 2PM may disturb my sleep patterns, so is out. And I cannot drink a second cup in the morning without breakfast or it will bother my stomach. I suspect when people say "cup" of coffee it is their normal drinking vessel volume. My cup is about 14 oz. and two or three a day is my limit. Occasionally I'll get a little too edgy, but most of the time I think it helps my productivity and alertness. I drink some diet pop, but only buy caffeine free.
Chicken lady
9-17-17, 9:33am
We have a "ten cup" coffee maker. It fills my mug 5 times. I drink three of those every morning. Since quitting diet soda (except sometimes at parties and eating out) i haven't been having any other caffiene but chocolate (not every day) and the occasional afternoon tea. I seem to sleep better without caffiene in the evening, but i get more tired in the afternoons and am more likely to have sugar then as a pick-me-up. When i had to drive home late from a party recently i had a very sugary piece of pie about 20 minutes before i left.
Coffee is definitely a drug. Straight caffeinated coffee upsets my stomach. I have several cups a day of 1/3 caffeine and 2/3 decaf (low acid). This might be a good way to cut back, but still have coffee....or slowly phase it out.
I'm a little weird too.........if I drink coffee after about 1p.m., I can get to sleep okay.........but I wake up all through the night. Uninterrupted sleep is so important........but in the mid-late afternoon, for some reason, I just have to have coffee........even if I'm not tired. I'm just weak, I guess. I like the act of just drinking coffee.
I think about the whole world drinking coffee and it makes me wonder how they can grow that much coffee!
I've tried to stop drinking it and I sleep so much better. But then I have a little and get so happy.........and fall off the wagon. It's definitely an acceptable mood elevator.
But do try mixing decaf with caffeinated to try to cut back.
There's also that Teeccino herbal coffee that you could use to dilute your caffeinated, or even replace it.
Chicken lady
9-17-17, 9:44am
CathyA, that's what i found with sleping - i fall asleep fine, but wake up later. Same wih alcohol if i have more than one.
I am caffeine-free, once again for now (I've lost track of how many times I've done this). My sleep routine has been so bad for over a month ever since menopause hit with a vengeance that I guess I am willing to go to any length to try and get a decent night's sleep. Now I need to work on the alcohol thing - I really need to cut back from thinking I need to have wine on hand and thinking I need a glass or two every single day. I really don't, but where I live now is very alcohol-centric...drinking is what people do in this town. Luckily I have a lot of work in the studio coming up so I have a good excuse not to go up to the bar after work.
But giving up caffeine right when I only get about four hours of sleep at a time with restless fits of catnapping in-between is really hard! I want the caffeine so I can function. Thank god I'm not at Wholefoods trying to do this; it would never happen. At least my job now can be done on very little sleep. Though one morning I accidently put body lotion on my hair to smooth it down and conditioner on my body to moisturize....
I have used rhodiola in the past as a substitute for coffee and other caffeine. I get both an energy and mood boast, but without the edginess and stomach issues. It will cause me some sleep issues if I take it later in the day. It's one of those supplements that appears to be harmless or even beneficial, but they really haven't studied it thoroughly.
Oh I forgot about this thread, I am soooo not working on caffeine. Somewhere between the over month long computer fix and a staff person going to jail the 2nd day of school and I dropped it. Hope everyone else is making some progress.
I have used rhodiola in the past as a substitute for coffee and other caffeine. I get both an energy and mood boast, but without the edginess and stomach issues. It will cause me some sleep issues if I take it later in the day. It's one of those supplements that appears to be harmless or even beneficial, but they really haven't studied it thoroughly.
that's interesting Rogar. One of my doctors recommended rhodiola to me. Maybe I'll give it a try. I'm always a bit careful with things like that.
CathyA, that's what i found with sleping - i fall asleep fine, but wake up later. Same wih alcohol if i have more than one.
It sort of makes me wonder if it's just taking awhile to be taken up in the digestive tract? It sort of never made sense to me.
I was already phasing out 5 hour energy drinks and now I will try to replace coffee with tea, not buying anymore coffee, though it's free at work so I may still be tempted to indulge there. This should save me some money also.
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