How to Give Up Caffeine

Guide Note: If you're a Red Bull-loving, coffee-swilling caffeine junkie, the idea of giving up America's most popular stimulant may seem absurd, even impossible. Fortunately, cutting back on caffeine isn't nearly as hard as you think. All it takes is time, patience and a few well-chosen alternatives.

Table of Contents:

Disclaimer: The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your doctor before using the information presented here.

Introduction

NOTE: Before beginning any undertaking involving nutrition and your body, please consult your doctor.

Step 1: Determine If You Need to Give Up Caffeine

(Creative Commons photo by Once and Future)
(Creative Commons photo by Once and Future)
  • So, why give up caffeine at all? Well, like most everything else in life, moderation is the key. The Mayo Clinic recommends cutting back on caffeine if any of the following situations apply to you2:

You Consume Unhealthy Amounts

  • According to the Mayo Clinic, heavy daily caffeine use of more than 500-600 milligrams per day (approximately 4 to 7 cups of coffee) can cause2:

Approximate Amounts of Caffeine

  • Coffee, Regular (1 Cup): 138 mg
  • Espresso (1/4 Cup): 125 mg
  • Cappuccino, Regular (1 Cup): 60 mg
  • Latte, Regular (1 Cup): 60 mg
  • Tea, Brewed, Hot (1 Cup): 47 mg
  • Nestea Iced Tea, Earl Grey (1 Cup): 33 mg
  • Cola Soda, Regular or Diet (12 oz): 42 mg
  • Mountain Dew (12 oz): 52 mg
  • Chocolate, Semisweet (1 oz): 18 mg
  • Chocolate Milk (1 Cup): 5 mg
  • Cocoa Powder (1 Tablespoon): 12 mg

Source: WebMD

You Have Caffeine Sensitivity

  • According to the Mayo Clinic, "If you're susceptible to the caffeine's effects, just small amounts — even one cup of coffee or tea — may prompt unwanted results, such as anxiety, restlessness and irritability. The more sensitive you are to caffeine, the less you need to consume before feeling its influence."2
  • Your relative caffeine sensitivity is dependent upon several factors including body mass, history of caffeine use, smoking habits, age, drug or hormone use and stress.
  • Consult your doctor to determine whether you are caffeine sensitive.

You're Not Sleeping Well

  • According to the Mayo Clinic, caffeine can interfere with sleep, and chronically losing sleep results in sleep deprivation, which disturbs your daytime functioning and can cause "impaired memory, mood swings, lack of concentration and poor performance at work or school."2
  • Caffeine keeps you from not only falling asleep at night, but increases the number of times your sleep is interrupted. "With less or poor-quality sleep, you're more tired the next day. To battle the fatigue and to feel more energetic, you reach for your morning jolt of Java." It's an unending, unhealthy cycle of caffeine dependence.2

You're Taking Certain Medications and Supplements

  • According to the Mayo Clinic, certain types of drugs and medications negatively interact with caffeine.2
  • It's crucial that you talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether or not caffeine may interfere with your prescription or any kind of over-the-counter herbal supplement you may be taking.

If this is what happens when they take the coffee machine out of your office, it's time to cut back.

Step 2: Determine Why You'd Like to Quit

  • If you're a coffee-buzzing, Red Bull-swilling soda junkie, you're going to have a hard time quitting. Even if you experience nary a withdrawal syndrome, just changing your habits can be difficult. So, you really have to want to quit.
  • The first step to making your caffeine-free dreams a reality is pinpointing why you want to quit. People quit drinking coffee, soda or energy drinks for a myriad of reasons from yellowing teeth to a desire to save money to wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. Be honest with yourself; do you really want to quit and why? Once you've done that bit of soul-searching, you're ready to begin the weaning process.

Step 3: Gradually Cut Back on Caffeine

(Creative Commons photo by Oscar Mota)
(Creative Commons photo by Oscar Mota)
  • Giving up caffeine is not going to be easy. While there is some debate in the medical community as to just how addictive caffeine is and you may or may not experience any withdrawal symptoms, the fact of the matter is that making any significant change in our daily routine can be difficult.

Is Caffeine Addictive?

Withdrawal Symptoms

  • Headache, Fatigue or Drowsiness
  • Depressed, Irritable Mood
  • Difficulty Concentrating
  • Flu-like Symptoms of Nausea and/or Vomiting
  • Muscle Pain or Stiffness
  • According to the Hopkins' study, people's experience of these symptoms ranged from "mildly annoying" to flu-like in intensity.3 Withdrawal symptoms "typically began 12 to 24 hours after the last dose of caffeine, became most severe after one to two days and lasted for two to nine days."

Caffeine Reduction Strategies

Switch from coffee to tea. (Creative Commons photo by Al-Fassam)
Switch from coffee to tea. (Creative Commons photo by Al-Fassam)
  • All of the following caffeine elimination strategies require that you cut back on caffeine gradually. It is not advisable to go cold turkey.
  • According to Dr. John Hughes, director of the Human Behavior Pharmacology Laboratory at the University of Vermont, even light coffee drinkers can have withdrawal symptoms.4 "It's best if you gradually give up caffeine over the course of several weeks, rather than giving it up abruptly."
  1. Gradually Reduce the Amount: Dr. Hughes recommends reducing your caffeine intake by 10 to 30 percent every few days.4 "If you drink 3 cups of coffee a day, drink 2 or 2 1/2 for three or four days, then decrease by another 1/2 cup a few days later and so forth. Give yourself plenty of time."
  2. Switch to Tea: Tea has a lower amount of caffeine than coffee. Switch over one of your daily servings from coffee to tea. Slowly transition completely to tea, then to caffeine-free or herbal tea.
    • Blogger Jay White recommends switching to a flavored tea that you A) love and B) comes in a caffeinated and decaffeinated version so that your eventual transition to the caffeine-free lifestyle is less dramatic.
  3. Brew Tea for Less Time: According to the Mayo Clinic, brewing tea for less time cuts down on its caffeine content.2
  4. Use a Coffee Alternative: Cut your coffee with a healthful alternative like soy-based coffees Rocamojo and Soyfee or an herbal caffeine-free coffee like Teeccino.

Tips for Achieving Success

  1. Establish a Baseline: In order for any weaning process to work, you have to know what your intake was to begin with. Establish a baseline by documenting the amount of caffeine you take in over the course of the week. Don't forget to include caffeine-laced pain relievers, weight loss pills, chocolates and sodas in your count.
  2. Don't Use Pain Relievers Containing Caffeine: When you suffer from a caffeine withdrawal headache, don't reach for a caffeine-filled pain reliever. Several over-the-counter products, like Excedrin and Anacin, are loaded with caffeine. Read the labels carefully, and choose a pain reliever that will help rather than hinder your progress.
  3. Give Up the Drug, Not the Ritual: You're giving up coffee, not your coffee break. If coffee, an energy drink or soda is part of a daily ritual for you like reading the paper or taking a mid-day break at work, keep the ritual. Replace the drink with water, juice or another caffeine-free alternative.
  4. Stay Healthy: Drink lots of water, get some fresh air and exercise. Aerobic exercise, in particular, creates a natural high that can help start your day in a more healthful way than coffee ever could.

Step 4: Celebrate Your Success

  • The best part is - quitting is way easier than you think. Give yourself enough time, and you too can join the 10% of America that isn't lining Starbucks and Coca-Cola's coffers. So, what are you waiting for? Brew up some herbal tea, and start living caffeine-free.

Resources for How to Give Up Caffeine

References for How to Give Up Caffeine

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 WebMD: Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Mayo Clinic: Caffeine: How much is too much?
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 WebMD: Are You Addicted to Caffeine?
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 MotherNature.com: Caffeine Dependency

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