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Cutting Down on Caffeine

Boris Bachmann

Boris Bachmann

Level 8 Valued Member
After years of abuse, I've decided I need to chill on the caffeine a bit. I don't care what people say, hundreds (sometimes thousands?) of mg/day of a stimulant can't be a good thing for your physical and emotional health. I'm glad I didn't start young w. the habit - I can't imagine needing Starbucks or a Red Bull to start my day as a teenager, but that's exactly what I see everyday.

Anywho, my strategy right now is to stop caffeine consumption by 10am (rather than 5pm...). I figure this way, I'll consume much less overall and give the body more time to actually detox a bit. AND, when I do want a caffeine kick, hopefully, it won't require a lethal dose.

Please wish me luck - I'm on day 3 and already sleeping a lot better.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
After years of abuse, I've decided I need to chill on the caffeine a bit. I don't care what people say, hundreds (sometimes thousands?) of mg/day of a stimulant can't be a good thing for your physical and emotional health. I'm glad I didn't start young w. the habit - I can't imagine needing Starbucks or a Red Bull to start my day as a teenager, but that's exactly what I see everyday.

Anywho, my strategy right now is to stop caffeine consumption by 10am (rather than 5pm...). I figure this way, I'll consume much less overall and give the body more time to actually detox a bit. AND, when I do want a caffeine kick, hopefully, it won't require a lethal dose.

Please wish me luck - I'm on day 3 and already sleeping a lot better.
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As I’ve gotten older I’ve found that 2 cups is my sweet spot… but I also still sometimes drink a full pot (like this week) to survive.

Good luck!
 
I quit coffee a few years ago. I had a headache for about 2 weeks after doing it which was super hard to work through. I kept it up for about a year and then had a treat one day and slowly went back to two a day which is where I keep it these days. I get a headache within 12 hours usually if I miss one. I like the taste of coffee too much to give it up though.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
After years of abuse, I've decided I need to chill on the caffeine a bit. I don't care what people say, hundreds (sometimes thousands?) of mg/day of a stimulant can't be a good thing for your physical and emotional health. I'm glad I didn't start young w. the habit - I can't imagine needing Starbucks or a Red Bull to start my day as a teenager, but that's exactly what I see everyday.

Anywho, my strategy right now is to stop caffeine consumption by 10am (rather than 5pm...). I figure this way, I'll consume much less overall and give the body more time to actually detox a bit. AND, when I do want a caffeine kick, hopefully, it won't require a lethal dose.

Please wish me luck - I'm on day 3 and already sleeping a lot better.
Click to expand...
@Boris Bachmann, I did the following to help me drastically reduce my caffeine intake.
  1. sunlight upon waking up. at least 15 minutes.
  2. hot water, along with the sunlight.
  3. evening/night walk after twilight.
  4. warm shower before bed.
This helps with the circadian rhythm. You can check out Huberman's podcast (I'll find the right one, if you'd like.) for a detailed discussion on this.
 
I wish you could cut down caffeine also for me... :D

I am apparently not able to drink less than 2 cups a day, which wouldn't be that much. However, my favorite way how to prepare coffee is Moka - and my modest estimate is that cup of Moka equals to 2 or 3 espressos... but it is sooo good!
 
The stuff’s addictive. Starting work at 2/3am I was knocking down a few through the day. Then one weekend I thought I’d go without one. The headache was bordering on a migraine & hung around all day. Having a history of addiction issues I didn’t like knowing my body felt it needed caffeine. Went a week cold turkey, headaches lasted 3 days then I was fine. I now limit myself to 1 or in winter 2 maximum a day. I can go a day without & don’t get a headache. In hindsight if was to cut back again I’d do it gradually & not cold turkey. Working with those headaches wasn’t fun.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
After years of abuse, I've decided I need to chill on the caffeine a bit. I don't care what people say, hundreds (sometimes thousands?) of mg/day of a stimulant can't be a good thing for your physical and emotional health. I'm glad I didn't start young w. the habit - I can't imagine needing Starbucks or a Red Bull to start my day as a teenager, but that's exactly what I see everyday.

Anywho, my strategy right now is to stop caffeine consumption by 10am (rather than 5pm...). I figure this way, I'll consume much less overall and give the body more time to actually detox a bit. AND, when I do want a caffeine kick, hopefully, it won't require a lethal dose.

Please wish me luck - I'm on day 3 and already sleeping a lot better.
Click to expand...
Makes sense with the 2.5-5hr. half life, depending on your clearing rate.
 
I like decaf a lot. I have coffee about 2-3 times per day but only one of them is normal, others are decaf or half decaf if it's not too late. For me, a significant part of the whole coffee thing is the ritual and the feeling that you're drinking something flavourful (without calories), not the caffeine kick itself.
 
As an Italian person that grew up with espressos, I now need to ask what I've been too afraid to ask for far too many years.

How much, in milliliters, is in a cup of coffee? Are we talking a cup-sized cup, 250ml? Isn't 2 of those far too much regardless of it being that "americano" nonsense or straight espresso shots?

I am on 1 espresso sized shot a day, maybe 2 and I've been on it for decades now...
 
Smau6785 said:
How much, in milliliters, is in a cup of coffee? Are we talking a cup-sized cup, 250ml? Isn't 2 of those far too much regardless of it being that "americano" nonsense or straight espresso shots?
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Depends. For brewed coffee, the caffeine per unit volume is generally more than in "diluted" espresso (even doppio) - like lungo or americano. For reference, in Starbucks, the largest (except for US) is 20oz/591ml and that uses 4 espresso shots. Medium size is 473ml and that is 3 shots. I don't think it's far too much.
 
Boris Bachmann said:
After years of abuse, I've decided I need to chill on the caffeine a bit. I don't care what people say, hundreds (sometimes thousands?) of mg/day of a stimulant can't be a good thing for your physical and emotional health. I'm glad I didn't start young w. the habit - I can't imagine needing Starbucks or a Red Bull to start my day as a teenager, but that's exactly what I see everyday.

Anywho, my strategy right now is to stop caffeine consumption by 10am (rather than 5pm...). I figure this way, I'll consume much less overall and give the body more time to actually detox a bit. AND, when I do want a caffeine kick, hopefully, it won't require a lethal dose.

Please wish me luck - I'm on day 3 and already sleeping a lot better.
Click to expand...

Luck!

Some people are non-responders. I wouldn't say I'm completely like that but caffeine effects me much less than most. I can forget to have coffee in the morning and won't notice. I like it - it's a nice habit, and my wife and I make each other's first coffee in the morning depending on who hits the kitchen first.

My body periodically lets me know when it's time to back off. Randonneurs, those marathon bicyclists, all stop drinking coffee for a week or so before their event so they can get maximum reaction to it when they're riding 16 hours a day.

Of interest to anyone with relatively mild sleep apnea: they give premature babies caffeine to improve something - I guess we'd say muscle tone. Personally, after being diagnosed with mild-to-moderate sleep apnea decades ago, I found two things that kept me from going the recommended c-pap route. One was position - simply using a smaller pillow made a big different. The other was avoiding being overly tired - if I get too tired, I don't sleep well, so if I'm feeling like that, I will sometimes have coffee right before bed, and it helps me sleep better.

Smau6785 said:
As an Italian person that grew up with espressos, I now need to ask what I've been too afraid to ask for far too many years.

How much, in milliliters, is in a cup of coffee? Are we talking a cup-sized cup, 250ml? Isn't 2 of those far too much regardless of it being that "americano" nonsense or straight espresso shots?

I am on 1 espresso sized shot a day, maybe 2 and I've been on it for decades now...
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Espresso is all we drink here. Mostly we make a long-ish shot, somewhere between real espresso and American coffee - Yum.

-S-
 
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