So many of you are probably wondering, what happens when you actually stop drinking coffee. It’s a scary concept that most of you would never try in your wildest dreams, but guess what it’s not the worst thing actually. This summer I developed chronic heartburn and unfortunately caffeine is extremely acidic, so no more coffee, alcohol or even good old Ibuprofen. There are a few things that happen immediately happen after you stop drinking that liquid gold.
Phase One: Death
Oh I mean it, you know that feeling where you wake up a little late and rush to work without drinking any caffeine? You know what I’m talking about, that headache that sneaks up behind you from out of nowhere and then just SMACKS you in the face with pain. That my friends is called withdrawals. You don’t ever really find out that you’re addicted to coffee until you are forced to stop drinking it, so once my doctor said no more coffee, I quit cold turkey.
The withdrawals for me lasted for about 10 days no kidding. I woke up every morning with the worst headaches that could have kept me in bed all day, if I wasn’t working 2 jobs… I’m not being dramatic, this was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced in my life. Eventually the headaches subsided and I was able to get through the day, I started drinking a ton of water to try and help which was great for my body instead of drinking all that coffee.
Phase 2: Academic Improvement
Okay, so I am a Communication Studies major at CWU which means I have gotten to take a couple of public speaking classes. I always thought of myself as a decent public speaker, but I’m telling you after I stopped drinking caffeine my anxiety had reduced IMMENSELY. Without the caffeine, there was no added angst or nervousness I am now much calmer after I stopped drinking caffeine!
Phase 3: Skin Improvement
Since I stopped drinking caffeine I have really starting drinking a lot of water because I don’t like pop, juice or flavored water, so I kept with plain old H2O. I think the increase in water along with the drop of caffeine to my system just really improved my skin! Did you know that coffee isn’t actually good at all for your skin, especially if you drink it with cream and sugar or worse. Turns out there are a lot of downsides to drinking coffee, so without it my skin just started getting its glow back. For more fun, check out this little article I found that give you details on what coffee really does to the skin.
So everybody, I mean its really a no brainer that you could benefit from stopping this nasty habit, even though the withdrawals are hell. Overall, I’m pretty stoked I made the change and so is my heartburn, but so is my overall happiness! Hey HC chapters, have any of you quit caffeine and then had similar or maybe not so similar effects? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.