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Why go caffeine free?
I sadly figure the oil companies will make us all go caffeine free in the medium to long term, so may as well enjoy it now before it becomes a luxury of the wealthy.
For one, to see if I can (been drinking coffee since I was maybe 7 or so)
For two, because maybe I'd feel better or sleep better !
I don't drink coffee after 3pm for that reason, and it's definitely helped with settling for sleep at night. Good luck with your efforts.
withdrawals can be rough, but I think it's worth trying
Maybe I'll try only 1 cup of kaf a day to start then do every other..
yes, a gradual taper is a good idea - much better than cold turkey.
Eventually switching to black tea, then green tea, then white tea would also help.
Might also be good to keep a log as a way to ensure you know exactly how many mg of caffeine you're consuming, and to keep yourself honest.
I’ve been having caffeine for about a decade, around 400mg a day. It has changed my brain, so tapering slowly seems like the only sustainable solution.
I think my sweet spot is around 5% reductions every 4-7 days. If I go cold turkey I’m just too miserable and cognitively incapable.
Just wanted to let you know that maybe your target reductions could be even smaller.
If 5% every couple of days is too slow, I’ve heard people doing up to 15% every couple of days. Of course, the only way for you to know what works for you is testing it.
I've been using decaf at home for a couple of years now. Then again I wasn't really dependent on caffeine so it wasn't hard for me to switch.
I've quit twice to see the effects. Crushing headaches start in 24 hours and can't be relieved with anything but caffeine. Yet mere sips of coffee/tea taken daily can stave off withdrawal. With < 2 cups of coffee total, you can wean yourself off completely symptom free.
Day 1 150ml
Day 2 125 ml
Day 3 100 ml and so on.
Pretty sure there is some caffinated tea leaf that is native to the USA.
Edit: Ilex vomitoria
Very cool, never heard of it.. What an unfortunate latin name due to colonial misunderstanding.
I'm sure more enviromenally-hardy caffeine producing plants like this will become more popular and economically relevant as time goes on.
I love my caffeine, as an undiagnosed but very high certainty person with ADHD. However, I like to go caffeine free every once in a whole, for like a week or so, at minimum to reset my tolerance. I can see why someone would want to go without. You don't realize how it effects you until you don't have any. You'll have headaches for a few days, but the withdrawals aren't too bad.
It's a drug, like any other. You should try to understand how it effects you and your addiction/reliance on it. Sure, it isn't particularly dangerous, but I still think it's healthy to know how your body reacts. I think it's weird that people treat caffeine as if it isn't a drug, just because most people are addicted to it.
Ah, the classic tolerance break. Beloved by stoners and coffee drinkers alike.
Caffeine is enjoyable to me but it affects my mental state a lot, in some ways negatively. In particular I feel less able to think about things holistically, way more tunnel vision type thinking. It's worrying that so many people use it every day and I make an effort not to.
Totally fair enough, thanks for entertaining my curiousity. It is psychoactive which would be concerning about its widespread use if it wasn't so clearly studied. Kicking the alcohol is definitely a far more impactful improvement to holistic health. Good luck in your efforts.
I have ADHD so caffeine is a useful tool for me, and I do love the flavour and scent.
Thanks, I agree alcohol is way worse (I feel so much better in general since I stopped drinking on a regular basis), caffeine isn't likely to do major harm to a person using it, it's just got that subtle influence, which may be a positive thing for you, I just think people should give it more consideration and not let it become an automatic choice.
You should try it - some people report various health benefits. Others report no effect. (and half from both groups are looking at what they care about and ignoring other evidence) Your doctors may have guidance on how it affects you.
I'm only asking for a 2 week trial. Then evaluate if it is worth going longer or not.