How to Successfully Ditch the Caffeine, and Benefits of Doing So

If you are an avid consumer of caffeine, it can be difficult to imagine a life where you cut it out of your diet completely. Whether you drink coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages like energy and fizzy drinks, you may not realise the poor impact that it is having on your health and day to day wellbeing. As a previous, self-confessed coffee addict, I made the decision around six months ago to ditch it completely and feel so much better for it. If you want some reasons why cutting out caffeine may be the best thing you can do for your health, and some tips for how to successfully do it, read on. 

Benefits of Ditching Caffeine 

There are lots of positive impacts that cutting back, or cutting out, caffeine, can have on your wellbeing. These include: 

Better Sleep 

You hear a lot of people saying that they don’t have caffeine after midday to prevent impact on their sleep, but the fact is that caffeine can stay in the body for hours, so no matter what time of day you have it, you are still impacting your sleep cycle each night. This can lead to feeling tired and having lower quality deep sleep. 

Reduced Anxiety 

Caffeine is a huge nervous system stimulant, and effects of it on the body can include heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, shaking and breathlessness. It isn’t good for stress levels, and reducing it, or cutting it out, promotes a more stable nervous system. 

Stable Energy Levels 

Just like how caffeine can impact the nervous system, it can also wreak havoc on your energy levels throughout the day. Most people will have felt, or at least heard of, a ‘caffeine crash’, which occurs when the stimulating feeling of caffeine begins to wear off. This causes your energy levels to come plummeting down, leaving you feeling tired, restless and likely reaching for another coffee to pull you through it. Without these ‘crashes’, your energy levels remain stable throughout the day. 

Better Nutrient Absorption 

Caffeine depletes the absorption of essential vitamins and nutrients, including magnesium, calcium and other B vitamins. This can also contribute to reduced energy levels and cognitive function, so by reducing the amount of caffeine in your diet, you promote the absorption of these essential vitamins. 

Improved Digestion 

Caffeine is an acidic substance, which can irritate the stomach, cause nausea and also impact how well you digest food. Some people even find they suffer from IBS or acid reflux after having too much caffeine. A simple way to reduce these symptoms and feel better day to day is to eliminate caffeine from your diet entirely. 

Top Tips for Cutting Out Caffeine 

Don’t Cut Out at First, Cut Back 

Trust me when I say that cutting back, or cutting out, coffee is no easy feat, especially when you drink a lot of it every day, like I used to. I found that because I was drinking 4-5 cups of black coffee a day, my first step in cutting it out was to cut back. So instead of 4-5 a day, I had 1 a day. 

This was harder for me than going from 1 to none in all honesty, and I definitely felt withdrawal symptoms- headache, irritability, you name it. But the impact it had on me once these had worn off was amazing- I slept better, didn’t feel jittery, felt energised throughout the whole day and even found I was drinking more water. 

Swap for a Different Drink 

When you drink a lot of caffeine a day, you almost get into a routine of drinking it at certain times. I found that the best way to combat this without reaching for a coffee was to enjoy a different drink at these times instead, so you are still having something. I started having herbal teas instead, and found I enjoyed these just as much as I did coffee. 

To Conclude 

It can feel hard to cut out caffeine, but there are so many health benefits to doing so and the initial withdrawal symptoms just need to be pushed through. Start small, cutting back instead of eliminating entirely, and make sure you have a different non-caffeinated drink on hand that you can enjoy in place of it.