The start of my daily routine is the thought that I can drink coffee. I drink it in the morning, in the afternoon and at night, and if I’m not drinking coffee, I have some sort of energy drink in my hand. Caffeine runs through my veins and honestly I was crazy to do a caffeine detox. It all started last Friday at 2pm.
When I started this caffeine-free week I knew there were going to be some problems. I expected to be cranky and have headaches but I find my results a lot more intense.
First day of Hell: I thought I would start without any caffeine the moment I woke up, until I went snowboarding and at the resort my favorite energy drink company, Kickstart, was sponsoring for the day. I knew it was a sign and I just had to have a sample. But after that I was done, and I knew what a long week it would be. On the first day, I found myself fine. I was extremely distracted learning to snowboard. Besides, the adrenaline you get when you’re on the slopes is enough to keep me running for the day.
Day two: I usually don’t drink coffee or anything on Saturdays, unless I am drinking a Kickstart. When I woke up I felt groggy and it felt like a truck hit me, realized I was alive, and backed over me. I spent the day just laying around with no motivation to do anything.
Day three: Sundays are my homework days, which means that I always had coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I spent my day in my apartment cleaning and attempting to do homework and cook dinner. I found myself to be sluggish, but productive.
Day four: First day of class without caffeine, and while it wasn’t until late at night, I thought I wouldn’t make it through the day. I had a lot of homework to do, papers to write, and clubs to manage. I had to really try to focus but I really struggled. I wanted to sleep and my head was killing me. By the end of the night I was angry at everything, and while I didn’t mean it, it was frustrating. Also I went to bed at 11pm but I didn’t fall asleep until 2am.
Day five: It was my first 8:30am of the entire week and the longest day of my life. I had trouble waking up and the fact that I couldn’t bribe myself with an energy drink, made it harder to get out of bed. I think the only thing that got me through the day was the amazing weather.
Day six: I felt more natural. I slept in, and when I woke up all I knew was that I needed to write a paper and call it a day. The weather was beautiful and I spent the day at the beach with no complaints.
Day seven: This was the last day, which meant that I knew I could get through it. I didn’t sleep the night before and while it was frustrating, my spring break was starting which only meant that I could stock up on caffeine for a week and be in the comfort of my own bed.
When I started this detox I thought that I would feel a lot better. I thought I would drink a lot more water, and while some days I did, I mostly drank Gatorade. I thought I would sleep better and wake up happier, but man was I wrong. But through this detox I learned that if I go a day without some sort of caffeine, I know I won’t die. I know that it’s probably healthier for me to cut back on it and not indulge myself with caffeine on a daily basis, and I think that was the ultimate goal that I needed to achieve by the end of this week.