Coffee, the miracle worker. It allows students to work all night and stay up all day. College students claim they can’t live without it and college campuses are overflowing with cafes.
I started drinking coffee at a really young age, I was probably five when I could finish a cup on my own. I always thought I could never get through a day without caffeine until I decided to quit; I no longer cling to coffee. As you can imagine I went through withdrawal. I’m going to fill you in on my two week journey and just to be clear, it could be another six weeks before I am through withdrawal.
About a month ago I got a job at a book store. It’s a good job; it’s easy and fun. Around the time that I started to train, my classes were picking up. I’d go to class, rush home to change, and rush to work. It wasn’t the easiest schedule because I didn’t have a lot of time for homework. I ended up staying up late to finish my assignments after a day of classes and work. The only way I could get through the day and night was with coffee. The amount of coffee I drank during the day increased as the first two weeks of work rolled by. By the end, I was drinking three 16 oz cups a day. Once I got used to my schedule, I no longer needed those three cups so I went back to one cup a day. I didn’t think much of this change until I started to feel sick. At first I was pretty sure I had the flu. I had a sore throat, runny nose, my body ached and my head hurt.
I took the necessary steps to get better: I slept well, ate soup, drank tea and watched several episodes of New Girl. I got better for one day but then I started feeling nauseous, dizzy, lightheaded and exhausted. I remember waking up on a Monday and not being able to move without feeling like the world was spinning around me. I went to the doctors and discovered I was going through caffeine withdrawal. That’s when I decided to quit cold-turkey. While I waited for the worst of the symptoms to be over, I did some research:
- Caffeine is mildly addictive and can be found in a variety of foods and drinks; nothing out of the ordinary.
- Caffeine could possibly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and gallstones, and suicide. This doesn’t mean that you should go crazy and drink five cups a day.
- Caffeine can contribute to osteoporosis because “it may interfere with the absorption and metabolism of calcium.”
The decision to quit caffeine immediately was my own, and if you don’t want to suffer the severe withdrawal symptoms, you should reduce your consumption slowly. The side effects and withdrawal symptoms you experience all depend on how much caffeine you consume. Some of the symptoms include: irritability, constipation, diarrhea, depression, lack of motivation, brain fog and muscle pain.* Now that the worst is over, I feel better. I sleep well, I’m not as dehydrated and I don’t get constant headaches. I’m content drinking herbal teas in the mornings, afternoons and nights.
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For more information on caffeine: