How to Stop Caffeine Addiction

Caffeine comes in a variety of forms: coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks etc. But they all have one important thing in common: the caffeine in them can be incredibly difficult to quit. If the best part of waking up is all that caffeine in your cup, it may be time to scale back. Caffeine is considered a stimulant. The white bitter substance, which is found naturally in more than 60 plants, passes into your bloodstream from your stomach and small intestine.

Once in your bloodstream, caffeine stimulates your central nervous system to make you feel more awake and alert. If you are quitting, you may experience a headache. That is because your body is used to having caffeine every day. The key is to cut down slowly on the amount of caffeine in your diet. Do not make the mistake of stopping totally abruptly.

By doing so, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms like headache, nausea, tiredness, muscle pain, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. And you may be tempted to go back to drinking coffee or soda or may think about taking a headache medication with caffeine in it to make your symptoms disappear. And if you do that, the dependency cycle all over again.

Avoiding the withdrawal symptoms is one of the most common reasons why people continue their habit.

We tend to turn to caffeine to keep us awake and help us concentrate. It can increase your energy and decrease your fatigue. And although caffeine is generally considered safe, consuming as little as 300 milligrams per day can increase your risk of negative side effects, including nausea, anxiety, sleeplessness, and restlessness. The more you consume, the more likely you are to experience negative side effects, including neurologic and cardiac issues and even death.

And even people who are drinking safe amounts may be doing so for unhealthy reasons. Any time you are trying to manage stress with a substance, that is something to pause and think about. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says healthy adults should have no more than 400 milligrams per day, which amounts to four or five cups of coffee.

But the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs recommends no more than 250 milligrams, about three cups of coffee, per day. If you are doing a cup of coffee every morning, it is not that big of a deal. But if you are doing espressos every day throughout the day, that is more of a problem. If you are pregnant, you will want to be even more careful.

The American Pregnancy Organization recommends you limit your intake to 200 milligrams a day including food with caffeine.

And children and adolescents should stay away from caffeine and other stimulants entirely. The effects can be felt as soon as 15 minutes after it is consumed. The level of caffeine in your blood peaks about one hour later and stays at this level for several hours for most people. Six hours after it is consumed, half of it is still in your body. It can take up to 10 hours to completely clear it from your bloodstream.

Your body can have a dependence on caffeine, but it is not technically an addiction. It raises dopamine, but the level is small. Illegal stimulants like methamphetamine (“meth”) and MDMA (“ecstasy” or “molly”) cause a huge surge that messes with the reward circuits in your brain. You get “addicted” to ecstasy and “dependent” on caffeine. Caffeine withdrawal is exactly what it sounds like — withdrawal from a substance.

Your body is literally going through withdrawal symptoms, as if you were coming off of any other substance. Because it affects the central nervous system, you are going to get shaky, irritable, and headachey. To avoid these undesirable side effects, including the agonizing headaches associated with withdrawal, go slowly and do not expect to give up your habit overnight.

In fact, quitting cold turkey can actually further your reliance on it.

Caffeine acts as a vasoconstrictor, which can help relieve headache pain, making it an ingredient in many over-the-counter pain relievers. So, taking a caffeine-laden painkiller for your withdrawal headache will help your pain but will only continue your dependence, you are just feeding your dependency in a different way. Instead, you want to start weaning yourself down.

If you are taking a prescription medication that includes caffeine, speak with your healthcare provider about the possibility of alternatives. If not, you will have to reduce your intake in other ways. Before you make moves to quit, assess your current intake if you are trying to quit your habit and want to avoid that dreaded headache. Assess how much is in the beverages you drink, then think about where you can cut back.

Many people can not sleep at night if they drink coffee after 2 p.m., so this step is really about assessing how it is affecting and interfering with your everyday activities. But it is not only about what you are drinking. Caffeine also lurks in foods such as chocolate and coffee-flavored ice cream, as well as in many pre-workout powders, protein drinks, water flavor enhancers, and even medications.

It is very important that you read the labels and be observant of what those labels are telling you.

Another key to beating withdrawal symptoms is water, water, water. And staying hydrated will energize your body, which may negate the need for caffeine in the first place. People often drink caffeine because they can not seem to stay awake, but dehydration is often the reason they do not have energy to begin with. If you can get hydrated, you are going to perk up and not need that caffeine as much.

Set a time by which you stop your caffeine intake each day. Medical professionals recommend 2 p.m. so as not to interfere with your sleep. Setting a time limit is helpful to allow adequate time for the caffeine level to decrease and allow your body to relax and allow you to get to sleep. Start with small changes. If you usually drink dark roast coffee, switch to a light roast to start.

If you usually drink black tea, try green or white tea instead. By decreasing lower caffeine drinks, you will be able to curb your intake by slowly weaning and allowing your body to get used to the lower levels over time without having the side effects previously mentioned. If you typically drink espressos, which have more caffeine than other caffeinated drinks, start by cutting it with half or even a quarter of decaf coffee.

Then, every few days, cut it down further, slowly reducing your intake over time.

If you delve deeper into your own psychology to identify your consumption habits, you may find that the caffeine itself is not as important to you as the feeling of consuming it. It is important to look for caffeine-free options if you are trying to decrease overall intake to allow yourself to stay hydrated and decrease the amount of stimulants you are adding to your body. If you are trying to hit the reset button on your health, cutting down on the caffeine while increasing water take is one of the simplest and most beneficial things you can do for yourself.