Something J said yesterday has me wondering. I was commenting on how tired I was on my way to bed and he said "ah you caffeine drinkers! When will you learn?" Yes I had had little sleep, but he had a point. J doesn't like hot drinks at all or the taste of coffee (I think he might be an alien) and doesn't like fizzy drinks (they make him hiccup) so he gets pretty much no caffeine at all unless he chokes down a Starbucks iced cappuccino or caffeine pill to stay awake on long editing projects or car drives. And when he does - the change is remarkable. Comical in fact. He's twitchy and hyper and you can see the caffeine working in him. And the thing is, he can stay up when he wants to usually for as long as he wants to. He's survived working at 4:30 AM for years on NO caffeine. I know. Crazy.
Me and caffeine? Not much effect anymore...I have a big cup of coffee every morning as I wait for the bus (mostly because it's warm) and usually another 2 or so in the day on my breaks. Makes me wonder how I can have a big cup of coffee before I go to bed and then just sleep no problem. I have been teased often for the amount of coffee I can consume at times. Yes I like it, but jeez...if it doesn't even affect me anymore? What the heck does THAT mean. I'm starting to wonder...what if I cut out caffeine? Would I (after the dreaded withdrawal headaches and constipation I'm told I'll have) have more energy and sleep better?
I'm thinking that November may be "wean Geo off caffeine" month. I do like the taste of coffee, but decaf is totally possible. I could cut out a cup a day until I was down to nothing. I could choke down more fibre in my diet and take metamucil (gag) and switch to decaf teas to keep warm before the bus. I could have decaf tea or coffee here at work. It wouldn't be THAT hard.
I'm starting to think think it might be worth the little experiment for a few months to see if I have more energy or not. Then if I really needed a boost for alertness it might actually work... I could still drink coffee, which I love, but cut out the caffeine. My body needs to learn to regulate itself without caffeine. All that stimulation all the time can't be good. How can I listen to my body and what it needs if it's all hopped up on caffeine?? Then I'd know if I was actually tired and not just crashing from the wearing off of my daily caffeination.
What do you think?
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2 comments:
I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I suck down diet sodas like no one's business. I quit once for quite awhile, mainly because it occured to me how much money I was spending on it all. My head hurt BAD for about a week, but then it was over. Of course, once I let myself have that first sip, I was completely back into the habit.
Hubby just quit last week. He has tummy problems and he definitely feels better without it.
I traded in my coffee cup for green tea. It was a tough transition but the benefits have been great. I was a 7 cups a day coffee person.
Green tea has caffeen but somewhat less and "healthier" caffine (whatever that means.. hahaha)
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