How to quit caffeine the easy way


So you want to quit caffeine?  Maybe caffeine is not working for you like it used to.  Maybe you find it hard to sleep at night.  Or you are hitting extreme tiredness during the afternoons after your caffeine has wore off for the day, and you want to get out of the cycle.  Or maybe you are trying to cut your monthly spending on something your body doesn't truly need.  Whatever reasons you may have, you are not alone on this journey.

Caffeine has really become a part of our daily life.  We use it in work environments, meetings, social events, and even as a pick me up in the afternoon.  It gives us this sense of productivity and efficiency.  Caffeine gives us the "sense" that we have increased capacity to accomplish more in less time.  According to Villanova University, "About 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine in one form or another every single day. More than half of all American adults consume more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine every day, making it by far America's most popular drug."

Caffeine impacts everyone differently.  There are some people that have a cup of coffee and go to sleep.  Then there are others that can't drink any caffeine after 4PM without it impacting their sleep schedule.  Some people are sensitive to caffeine and others are not.

What are some signs of caffeine sensitivity?

1.  You experience trouble sleeping where your mind cannot shut off at night.  You may even take some sleep-aids to force yourself into a sleep state.  This creates excessive drowsiness in the morning where you feel dependent on caffeine again to shift your body from sleep to wake states, and the cycle repeats.

2.  You have moments of anxiety or nervousness.  You may worry about situations that are not even in your power to control.  You may encounter obsessive thoughts over one particular issue that you have trouble shaking or letting go of.

3.  You have trouble trusting your intuition and experience self-doubt.  When we have caffeine we force our brains to stay in a beta state.  Beta states are states of peaked alertness, critical thinking and reasoning.  In an Alpha or Theta state we are able to tap into our creativity, our state of well-being, and light meditation.  This allows us to listen to our intuition and tap into our sixth sense abilities, allowing life to work for us not against us.  This is our most natural state of grace.

4.  You have trouble focusing on one thing at a time and jump around in tasks or conversations.  Caffeine can force us into a fight or flight behavior.  We can start to treat everything as urgent and have difficulty prioritizing tasks and try to do everything all at once.  Instead of approaching life in a calm state, we approach it with urgency, sometimes trying to force solutions that have not had time to work themselves out.

5.  You encounter throat irritations such as soreness or hoarseness.  This can be caused from mold sensitivities from coffee or tea due to Mycotoxins.  Mycotoxins like Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic substance created by fungus that occurs on both dry and roasted beans.

6.  You may experience skin irritations or blemishes.  Due to the increase of acidity in your bloodstream and an increase in cortisol levels, your skin can react in a negative way.  Coffee or tea can range in a ph level of 4.7 and 5.2 for espresso and brewed coffees.

7.  You may encounter muscle tension or tightness.  Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and causes our muscles to partly contract and then stay that way.  This increases that feeling of tension in the body.

8.  Caffeine can increase headache frequency or trigger migraines when you don't have it.  Caffeine impacts how our body reacts to pain and it also impacts our brain's level of adenosine.  When a person has a migraine attack adenosine levels increase in the brain.  Used sparingly caffeine can help block these pain receptors in the brain, but once dependency is achieved the dosage can actually contribute to an increase of tension headaches and migraines.

9.  Unexplained weight gain or inability to lose weight.  Caffeine impacts our hormones and increases our cortisol levels.  Caffeine causes us to crave sugary foods and increase our intake of carbohydrates.  It also causes adrenal exhaustion.

10.  Infertility and increased miscarriages.  Having at least 200mg of caffeine a day increases your risk of miscarriage by 25%.  More than one caffeinated drink a day can cause issues with fertility and getting pregnant.

When our body responds in a negative way to caffeine it is time to take a look at the pros and cons and make a conscious effort to make some changes to eliminate the symptoms.

For me, I was raised to drink coffee, it was in our family, it was given to you when you were sick or when you had a headache.  Caffeine has it's place where it can be helpful, but taken over a long period of time, it loses it's effectiveness and can even cause fatigue instead of preventing it.

My body became very reliant on caffeine to "not" have headaches.  I would hit an afternoon slump.  I would experience nasal congestion, runny nose, and sore throats.  It would usually take about 3 days to build up in my system.  I would quit drinking caffeine and my symptoms would go away, but I always hit a wall with caffeine withdrawal that would trigger migraines, blurred vision, and vomiting.   Being a busy working Mom of 4, a business owner, it was hard to commit to breaking the cycle.  I needed a reliable way of weaning off of caffeine without the side effects.

I tried literally everything from weaning from coffee to green tea.  I would end up only drinking more green tea which resulted in more caffeine than the coffee.  The dosage in tea bags and in coffee is inconsistent to measure which made it even more so a challenge to monitor dosages and gradually decrease my intake, not to mention the habit of having a warm drink.

I went back and fourth with this for years and felt discouraged every time I would go back to old habits.
Our body can wean off caffeine by decreasing the dosage about 40-50mg per day without triggering withdrawal symptoms.  I needed something that would take out the guess work on dosages that didn't have any other unnecessary ingredients.  I did not want to use any over the counter medication with caffeine because that contained additional pain relievers like Acetaminophen and Aspirin which for a headache prone person can trigger what is called rebound headaches and cause a dependency on pain relievers just to keep the headaches from recurring.

What is the easiest way of quitting caffeine?

I finally found a supplement that was designed to help someone wean off caffeine called Wean Caffeine.  This took the thought out of dosing information and only had two simple ingredients:  a natural powdered form of caffeine and L-Theanine which is just a natural amino acid to help take the edge off while you are quitting.  The plan is very simple, each box represents 100 mg of caffeine.  If you are consuming about 4 cups of coffee a day or 400 mg, you would start with 4 boxes.  By the end of 30 days you will be weened off of caffeine with no withdrawal symptoms. 

You would take one pill during your normal times of consuming coffee.  For me and my schedule this was 6 am, 10 am, noon, and then 4 pm.  I did this consistently and did not consume any soda, energy drinks, caffeinated tea, or pain relievers with caffeine.  I cut out all forms of caffeine and successfully quit in 30 days.

I did not get sick.  I did not have migraines.  I did not encounter brain fog where I could not perform or function.  My life continued on without coffee, without caffeine.  

I actually would sleep at night with ease. I would wake up energized and without an alarm.  It was like I was finally regaining control over my body's natural function and time clock.  I consumed less sweets and my appetite was under control.  My blood sugar was more balanced and my headaches decreased tremendously.

I was able to focus and have an increased sense of concentration.  It was easy for me to go from a productive mindset to creative.  It was also easier for me to relax and be more receptive to my intuition.

I still love the smell of coffee, I don't know if that will ever change.  But it is just like appreciating the scent of fresh roses or a great cologne, you can smell it all you want, but you don't have to ingest it.

If your caffeine habit has gotten out of control or if you just want to take a break and detox for a bit without experiencing withdrawal symptoms, Wean Caffeine is the way to go to quit caffeine without the struggle.

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