Up until this past week, I forgot what a coffee-less lifestyle looked like. My early mornings always began with a cup of coffee. My lunches? Refills! Nights with my friends always started out with a quick run to a Starbucks drive-thru, and our brunches the next day always started the ever-caffeinated cycle over again.
This constant lifestyle of cup after cup had began to lose its luster, and it seemed like with every full coffee mug my caffeine fix was getting harder to satisfy. No matter how many espresso shots I had, I wasn’t able to reach the same level I had kept up when I first began to drink coffee. I could have an entire venti cup of coffee and take nap, with ease, straight after.
No matter how much I drank, I just wasn’t able to get my energy up! So, I decided: It was time to give coffee the axe for seven days, no breaks, until I could get a grasp on what was going on with my energy levels. Here’s what happened during that arduous week.
Photo courtesy of Stocksnap
Sunday 12pm: I woke up immediately with a throbbing headache, and not because of anything I had done the night before. As the day progressed, my headache got worse and worse, and within a couple of hours I was crumpled onto my bathroom floor with a full-fledged migraine. I didn’t think it was going to be that rough. Somehow, that night, I slept like a baby.
Monday 8am: My day started off real tough, and I had to pop a couple of Tylenols to fight off the remains of last night’s migraine, which turned into this morning’s caffeine-withdrawal headache. Besides the headache, however, my body ached, and it honestly felt like I was coming down with something. I fought to keep my eyes open at work, and passed out on the couch after my shift.
Tuesday 2am: Why was I awake? That was random; were my circadian rhythms re-adjusting?
Tuesday 9am: The two-day headache epidemic had died down (thank God) but I was cranky as ever, and my temper was super short. I walked halfway to the campus Starbucks, convinced I was going to crack, but somehow I had the willpower to walk away, take a deep breath, and try to shake the mood.
Wednesday-Friday: Somehow, I made it through this part of the week, and between staying busy with classes and work, the coffee-less challenge was starting to get easier. I was still sleepier and crankier than I usually am during the day, and I napped a lot, but my nights had been much more full of good sleep. I had started to feel more hydrated as I started drinking glasses of water instead of cups of coffee, and I think I finally began to see the light at the end of the tunnel on Friday.
Saturday 8am: I woke up with an abundance of energy, and somehow didn’t feel so sleepy. In fact, I woke up with more energy than I used to after my daily cup, and my mood was good. Saturday, I was ready to take on the world!
Saturday 2pm: But I needed a nap first.
Sunday (one week later!!): I did it, I had made it through! I woke up again with energy, a good mood, and a clear head! I considered getting a coffee to celebrate, but I felt too good to stop, so I settled with a hot chocolate. The future of caffeine less drinks looked promising, and I haven’t cracked yet!
Photo courtesy of Stocksnap
Things I Wish I Knew Beforehand: If I had to experience this caffeine “reset” process again, I honestly would have picked a better time to embark on this process. It was extremely difficult to power through this process with my job, tons of homework, and social responsibilities. If you are considering this challenge, I would time it while you have some down time, just because you may experience a lot of fatigue, headaches, and mood swings! But, if I had known how good I would feel after, I would’ve done it earlier, because it is an energy and money saver!
For everyone trying to get rid of excess caffeine content, the light at the end of the tunnel is closer than you think. Ever since I stopped drinking so much coffee, my mood has overall been higher, my mind clearer, and my body more hydrated!
Starbucks, it’s not you, it’s me!