I Gave Up Coffee: 30 Days Without Caffeine
I gave up coffee in April as my Monthly Habit Challenge to find out how the lack of caffeine would affect my productivity, mood and sleep. For years, coffee has been the backbone of my morning. Like many, making that first cup became synonymous with waking up and making breakfast.
Luckily for me, I wasn’t alone in giving up caffeine. My girlfriend, Sam, also decided to join the challenge with me. Sam has been drinking coffee for a lot longer than I have and hasn’t gone a day without at least 1 cup of coffee for over 10 years! We both love coffee but we also wanted to make sure that our functionality and productivity wasn’t dependent on the sweet black nectar of the gods (coffee).
Why I Gave Up Coffee
Ever since I started doing these monthly habit challenges the focus was to bring me out of my comfort zone. I want to find out what is truly necessary for my life and what is most valuable to me. Giving up coffee was a perfect test to see how dependent I am on caffeine, and whether or not I need it to be productive.
After years of drinking coffee, I was very curious to find out how it would not only affect my productivity, but also my general health. After doing some research, I found an article from Healthline stating that giving up caffeine can lead to reduced anxiety, better sleep, fewer headaches and less irritability. All of this sounds quite nice!
I don’t have huge difficulty sleeping, dealing with high levels of anxiety, or regular headaches but I was interested to see if I notice a difference in the levels of symptoms I do experience. These negative effects can often be underlying and/or chronic for many people, affecting them without their knowing. This challenge would determine if I was in this group of people.
My Experience Giving Up Coffee
Symptoms Of Giving Up Coffee
The first week of giving up coffee was the worst. I was feeling significantly more tired and experiencing many more headaches. I felt very spaced out, almost like a connection in my brain wasn’t working. Time was going very slowly and It felt like the first week lasted two months!
I was surprised by how strong the withdrawal was. I felt like there was a fundamental aspect of my daily life missing. Nothing seemed to replace the taste of coffee, although I did try to find an alternative.
Replacements For Coffee
Tea. Lots and lots of tea. Mint tea, ginger tea, even nettle tea. It just didn’t cut it. Something had to fill the gap where caffeine used to be, but nothing came close. We even tried an organic chicory latte (don’t waste your money!).
One thing that I found to increase my energy levels and reduce my craving for my morning cup, was exercising first thing. In March, I learnt how to build a routine for consistent exercise and it really helped with waking my body up. There was a significant difference in my productivity and mood on the days when I worked out compared to the ones when I slept in. According to this article, exercising more regularly encourages the production of mitochondria which then produces more energy.
Apart from the desperate tea drinking and regular exercise, nothing truly replaced the delicious taste and the undeniable effects of coffee.
Benefits & Negatives Of Giving Up Caffeine
The negatives are likely obvious ones. I was felt much more tired, I found myself procrastinating regularly and the headaches were pretty bad as well. Aside from the physical effects, I felt like I was missing something from my life. My mornings were less enjoyable, which made me realise that it wasn’t just the caffeine I missed, it was the taste and the enjoyment coffee gave me.
It took a while until I noticed the benefits of giving up coffee and caffeine. It was only in the first week of May that it became obvious. After writing my last post, “Monthly Progress: April — Embracing Change”, I had an incredibly positive attitude to writing the “Aprils Mood” section. Once I’d finished the post I continued to reflect on the past month.
The most obvious benefit I noticed was a huge drop in the number of times I would feel anxious. The removal of anxiety was replaced by a sense of gratitude and positivity. My day to day attitude was one of calmness, acceptance and openness. In addition, I felt much less irritable and I embraced difficulties as opportunities.
I slept incredibly well all month, which probably helped towards the reduced anxiety levels. I also spent less money because we weren’t paying for coffee.
The 1st Cup
After giving up caffeine for a whole month, I finally had the 1st cup I’d been waiting for. It was delicious! I savoured every sip and had never felt so grateful to have a single cup of coffee.
But then I had a second cup.
It turns out going 30 days without caffeine in any form will significantly lower your tolerance. After the second cup, my anxiety levels when through the roof. My hands were shaking, I felt sick and had awful heartburn. My mind was hyperaware of everything, yet I couldn’t process any information. That night I considered quitting coffee for good!
The next day came and had a morning cup. I stuck to one coffee that day and it felt much better. Before this challenge I could easily drink 2–3 cups a day, now I have to be incredibly considerate and mindful if I want a second cup.
A word of advice for anyone that wants to try this challenge: do not expect to have the same caffeine tolerance you used to, it will end badly.
Sam’s Experience Giving Up Caffeine
“The main reason I gave up coffee was to see if I could push myself both physically and mentally. I’ve been a coffee drinker for over 10 years, drinking 3–5 cups every day so I knew it was going to be tough. However, the way my body and mind reacted without coffee did really come as a shock!
The first 4–5 days I felt really bad, almost ill. I had a temperature, cold sweats, bad headaches, felt tired and my whole body was aching. Almost like I had the flu (this was all just side effects of not having any caffeine, they were NOT Covid symptoms). I kept falling asleep on the sofa around lunchtime every day because I was tired. This is not normal for me.
After the first week, my body got used to it and I felt a lot better. Although, I was still craving coffee. It made me laugh when I asked a colleague if I could smell her coffee just to calm the craving — believe it or not, it did help! After what seemed like the longest month in my life had passed I felt really good. Both physically, because my body had now gone back to feeling energised without coffee, and mentally because I powered through the challenge! I kept thinking about Charles Bukowski’s quote: ”What matters most is how well you walk through fire” and that kept me going.
I am now back to drinking coffee but not even close to as much I used to. Now I’m very satisfied after my morning coffee and don’t feel like I need any more than that. So thank you Connor for letting me do this challenge with you, I feel like we both came out stronger on the other side!”
A Quick Thought On Accountability.
Having Sam do this challenge with me was a perfect way of adding accountability. If either of us were doing it by ourselves it would’ve been much more likely that we crack and have a coffee. Knowing that we didn’t want to let each other down was a big motivating factor to keep us on track. In my opinion, accountability is essential to forming any new habit or breaking old ones.
Final Thoughts
Did I see the benefits of giving up caffeine? Yes. Will I give it up again? I highly doubt it. This challenge made me realise that coffee is more to me than the caffeine high. It’s the ritual of making the first cup, the delicious flavours and also the social aspect that comes with it.
While I wouldn’t ever try to convince someone they should quit caffeine forever, I do think that a 30-day challenge can be incredibly beneficial. The process can increase your awareness of what helps your body tick, but it will also help you become more grateful for the small things that many of us take for granted.
I gave up coffee for 30 days and that period has made me enjoy it much more. I take my time to drink it and appreciate the flavours, smells and moment of peace that comes with the first sip. If you’re interested in any of the other challenges I’ve done you can view them here.
I’d love to know if you’re planning on taking this challenge so please get in touch! I respond to every email I receive because every message is hugely appreciated.
Have a fantastic week and stay safe.
Connor McCorkindale
