How I Cut Caffeine Out Of My Life

Sometimes I wonder how I was able to completely cut caffeine out of my life. It definitely wasn’t easy but there was a point in time where I was 100% dependent on caffeine to get through my days. I would say my caffeine addiction really started in college, I always liked coffee but suddenly when you stay up all night and have to wake up early for an 8am - coffee becomes essential. Since there was a Starbucks in our campus library, I was consuming at least 1 venti coffee a day! Fast forward to my senior year of college, suddenly I needed 2 coffees a day just to keep myself from falling asleep in my afternoon zoom class and if I skipped a coffee that day, I would get a massive migraine for the rest of the day. It was at that point in my life that I decided I needed to cut back on the caffeine and that it wasn’t healthy for me to continue this way.

After coming back home from college and starting a full-time job, I realized that now more than ever I needed to cut back on my coffee intake. This was for many reasons including overconsumption but also due to heightened anxiety and stomach issues while consuming coffee as often as I was. The first change I made was switching from coffee to matcha. I have always loved matcha but it wasn’t something I made at home often. One day, I decided I was going to start making matcha lattes instead of espresso lattes in the morning and bought all the supplies I needed to accomplish it! I decided to switch over to matcha because it actually has a lower caffeine count which makes it easier on the stomach than coffee. Matcha also contains L-Theanine which can help reduce stress and anxiety. With those two reasons and more, I began drinking my matcha lattes in the morning and purposely avoided that second cup throughout the day!

Some things I noticed: I was in a better mood while drinking matcha than when I was drinking coffee. I had no stomach sensitivity and I was having significantly less anxiety than when I drank coffee. I also wasn’t getting those caffeine headaches anymore so I was pleasantly surprised with my matcha routine.

As time went on and I got less and less dependent on caffeine, when I woke up for work in the morning I didn’t crave any coffee or matcha! When I woke up, I felt energized and ready for the day and not groggy and tired from the night before. This was a first for me, but overtime now I have been pretty consistent. It's been several months now and I was able to cut my caffeine in-take by practically 90%. Currently, I don’t grab a coffee or a matcha unless I absolutely need it. The only cases I drink coffee or matcha is if I didn’t sleep the night before or if I am grabbing a latte casually with some friends on the weekend. I know it sounds crazy that I basically went from having 2 coffees a day to practically none and you may think you may never be able to do too. I wanted to tell you that you can do it! It may not seem easy but if you are feeling the same way as I felt, I would definitely consider trying it!