Who am I without my emotional support latte? It’s the question that haunts most college girls. For many of us, caffeine is what fuels us through 8 a.m. lectures, midterms, and finals season.
Sometimes it feels like caffeine is the only thing stopping me from passing out during a late-night study session.
If you’re anything like me, my TikTok For You Page has been filled with Larissa Rodriguez, the 17-year-old girl who died due to an enlarged heart caused by excessive caffeine intake. Rodriguez’s parents are suing Alani Nu for marketing the drink to young consumers without providing clear enough warnings of the risks.
While cases like this are rare, I used to consume around 650 mg of caffeine a day, well beyond the threshold of a safe amount of caffeine for adults. Instead of seeing this as just another story on the news, I realized how out of hand my caffeine consumption was getting.
Finals are right around the corner, and with that comes late-night study sessions, days that drag by, and lots of cramming. Many people probably consume a ton more caffeine during finals week, but it doesn’t have to be that way as long as you practice mindful strategies.
Time For A Caffeine Audit
Yes, you might have a rough idea of how much caffeine you’re drinking. However, for many, it seems that caffeine just loves to creep into your body in mysterious ways.
There are times when I drink soda at like 8 p.m. and don’t even realize until it’s already in my system. Throughout the day, these small amounts of caffeine build up.
The solution for this is to become more mindful and consider some common sources of caffeine that you might consume naturally. Caffeine is commonly found in chocolate, pre-workout powders, protein drinks, flavored waters, and even medications.
Take It Slow: Why “Cold Turkey” Is A No-go
In my experience, quitting cold turkey has never been effective. If you can handle a major headache for several days, then I admire your ability to soldier through it.
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say giving up caffeine is very hard. One day, I randomly decided to try to go cold turkey, and randomly took a nap on the ground at 5 p.m. after fighting raging headaches all day.
Guess what happened next? I caved and decided that caffeine was the only thing that would make me get up.
Withdrawal symptoms are amplified when going from chronic consumer to nothing, leading to headaches, nausea, exhaustion, and difficulty focusing.
The Sunset Rule: Set A Cutoff
Six hours after caffeine is consumed, half of it is still in your body. Being aware of this makes me more mindful. If I want to drink soda at night, I always make sure it’s caffeine-free. I personally love Bubly sparkling water and Poppi soda.
While a few Poppi flavors are caffeinated, most are caffeine-free. I try not to drink any caffeine past 2 p.m., and I can say that my sleep schedule has improved significantly.
I used to battle major insomnia, and one night, I got three hours of sleep despite lying down for eight hours. This was back when I was a chronic caffeine drinker. Since cutting back to less than 45 mg of caffeine a day, my sleep has never been better.
Hot Girl Walks
If the thought of a jog makes you feel sweaty, let me introduce you to the hot girl walk. Even a short stroll in your favorite matching set releases those endorphins that work magic!
Exercise triggers the release of chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Combined, they make you feel more energetic and alert. It’s a natural boost that doesn’t end in a painful caffeine crash.
Hydration Is Key
Maybe you don’t need caffeine; you need water. Staying hydrated helps with energy, and it’s one of the best ways I can think of to naturally improve energy levels.
Research studies have found that fluid loss as low as 1% to 2% of your body weight reduces oxygen delivery to your brain and slows down blood flow.
When you’re even slightly dehydrated, it sometimes feels like your brain takes a one-way ticket to exhaustion town. Instead of caffeinating the chaos, maybe show some appreciation for “boring, old” water.
Let’s Switch Things Up
Giving up caffeine doesn’t mean giving up fun drinks. I used to believe that if I wasn’t getting a caffeine buzz from a drink, it wasn’t worth it. I have a newfound appreciation for trying new drinks now, even non-caffeinated ones.
If you love the taste of coffee, maybe go decaf. There are plenty of good non-caffeinated sodas out there, like Sprite and ginger ale. While I’m aware sodas have risks on their own, I consider them “lesser evils” that have helped me finally give up my caffeine addiction.
If you’re a CELSIUS or Alani Nu fan, maybe your brain is just missing that fizz. Trading my energy drinks for sparkling waters has allowed me to still look forward to drinking fun drinks.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
Caffeine doesn’t create real energy; it masks exhaustion, which is why people sometimes experience a crash once the effects wear off.
While caffeine gives me energy in the short term, it turns into major insomnia at night. Besides giving up caffeine, one of the things that I’ve done to help me get better sleep is to set a consistent sleep schedule.
Since cutting my caffeine intake by over 90%, I’ve gotten some of the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. I realized that I could naturally fuel my body through setting an adequate sleep schedule, and finally break the toxic relationship that I’ve had with caffeine for years.
Even though it was hard to give up my caffeine addiction, the guilt that I felt was harder. Sometimes my body would randomly jitter, and it was horrifying.
This has been one of the most life-changing decisions I’ve ever made. If you’re feeling hesitant, my advice is just to give it a try. This is the time to start running on sleep instead of caffeine!
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest!