I had been interested in cutting back/getting off caffeine for some time, and had actually done a few stints of two weeks+ in the last few years (one of which was while I was a barista - which was tough!), but I started to have some real panic/anxiety issues at the end of a six month trip in Asia where I was working remotely and decided it was finally time to get off for an extended period of time.
My baseline was typically 1-2 iced Americanos and/or espressos a day, although there was a period in the summer where I was having 3 a day.
On previous un-caff periods, I did a weaning period, which consisted of cutting to about 50% for 2-3 days, then going to about 50% of that for 2-3 days, then just a little splash of cold brew in the AM for 2-3 days before hitting zero. This time I had a bunch of green tea one day and then basically cold turkey from there, but I was coming off a 36 hour travel day, so all bets were kinda off as to what my body was doing at that point.
Here's the main things I'm noticing (on day 16ish):
- Calm/less need for stimulation: I go for a lot of long walks and jogs and without caffeine, I've noticed that I am much more open to not needing to listen to anything while I'm out and about. I am more at peace with my thoughts and just enjoy looking at stuff and observing what is going on with the world. When I do listen to a podcast or audiobook, I've moved to listening to them at 1x speed, instead of 1.4x speed (this is a change I made to help with anxiety, but I've stuck with it over the last couple weeks as well).
- Sleep: I'm doing much better at sleeping through the night and I'm pretty sure I'm falling asleep faster most nights. This is also something I noticed in my previous un-caff stints, along with really vivid dreams, which have started coming back as well. I was really struggling with jet lag and some sleep anxiety the first week off, so I don't want to overstate the un-caff effects too much, just because I'm still getting back to a healthy sleep schedule, but I am definitely noticing that I am having longer periods of uninterrupted sleep this last week. Previously I would be aware of tossing and turning in the night and generally wake up 3-4 times. Now I'm not noticing/aware of tossing and turning, and I'm generally only waking up 1-2 times.
- In previous stints, I also would sleep less than I did on caff, yet wake up feeling more refreshed (like 9.5 hours vs 8-8.5 hours). This is something I will be paying more attention to once my sleep schedule is a little more stable.
- Something else I'm really interested in checking in with is my teeth grinding/clenching. I'm a nighttime clencher and I'm curious to see if/how this changes things over the next few months. I've seen a couple other people post about a reduction in clenching after a few months, so this is something I'll be paying attention to!
- Time has slowed down like crazy. This is something other people have observed on here and it is definitely true for me! I used to look at the clock and be like "It's already 3pm--where did the day go?!" But the last few weeks, I look at the clock, and it's more like, "Oh, it's only 11:30am and I already got so much done." This has been very weird and very nice. I think a big part of it is not feeling the need to cram four activities into every second of the day. Additionally, I've been setting smaller, more manageable goals for myself and actually hitting most of them on a daily basis, which feels really good and I think makes the day feel more complete. The smaller goals and not feeling quite as switched on has made it easier for me to just jump into the work like...maybe 75% of the time? Previously, every day had to be the day where something big happened, or it was a waste, and, well, that hardly ever happens, which leads to a lot of dissatisfaction. I think this change could be attributed to an overall mindset shift that I've been working on, but I think it's fair to say that the caff could be playing a role here as well.
- When I get tired, I get verrrrrry tired. This has kind of always been a thing for me, but it's really sharp right now. Typically it's been about 8pm, but sometimes a little earlier or later depending on the day and activity level. I'm also really interested in seeing how this adjusts once my sleep and travel schedule are a little more stable.
- Much better able to connect with people. I went to a cousin's wedding and was genuinely excited to see and connect with family members that I hadn't seen in a while. I felt much less avoidance or a need to distract myself/check my phone/etc and instead was asking people how they were doing, what they had been up to and so on. I'm a pretty social guy and would normally go around and talk to people, but this felt a little different - like I was doing it because I wanted to, not because of a sense of obligation. Is that something other people have experienced? I see a lot of people mentioning reduced social anxiety and assume that's kind of what is happening here.
- Less tension/tightness in my neck. I normally have a very tight neck and have to crack it a few times a day. After maybe a week of un-caff, I had a couple really nice pops and am just now noticing that it's been much less tight the last week or so. This actually feels really nice!
- I've noticed that I'm not "planning" as much. I used to be constantly working on a week/six month/year plan (that I would inevitably not live up to because I would switch projects two days later) and that hasn't been the case nearly as much--I've been much more content to face the day as it comes and be excited about what's going on. This could be because I'm in a weird transition period, but I think it's at least worth noting and something I'll want to check in on.
- Building on that, I'm a writer and I've been switching between projects a ton the past two years (like, literally a ton--I've written first drafts for nine novels across six different series, along with outlines and snippets for another...12? But I haven't actually published anything yet, which I think was what led to a lot of the anxiety). In the two weeks of no-caff, I finished the third draft of the thing that's closest to publication and finally passed it off to some people to read, and then moved on to the next thing that's pretty close to publication and have finally gotten back to posting chapters of it online, which was something I had been avoiding doing for the last year or so. Again, this may be due to other influences in my life, but generally I feel less amped up/less pressure and I'm more confident in the quality of my work, which has been a really nice and unexpected effect of this chemical change.
- I think my headaches have been reduced. I used to get stress/tension headaches, and they've been much less frequent/milder the last week or so and I've been avoiding taking Advil, which has been really nice. I don't want to make a grand proclamation about this just yet, but it's definitely something I'll be looking at in the coming weeks.
I suspect that a lot of these changes are interrelated...ie putting less pressure on myself means getting more done means neck is less tight means fewer headaches, but it's still a pretty awesome list for me to read back over!
I've noticed a handful of other changes over the past few weeks, but like I said, I'm coming off of a period of high anxiety, mixed with a lot of travel and readjustment to being in the US, so I don't want to conflate stuff or just assume it's all caffeine related. I'm happy to answer any other questions people have, though!
My current plan is to take at least three months off and then do a check-in with myself, but if the positive changes continue, I don't expect to see a reason to return being a regular caff user. I'll likely do another post at 1 month, 2 months and 3 months if people are interested in hearing more updates.
Thanks for reading!
p.s. This post was inspired by a post that I loved from last year and have referred back to a few times when I was in need of motivation to step back from caff. If you need some more inspiration in your journey, check it out! https://www.reddit.com/r/decaf/s/nPiy6oULQV
(I may do a similar head-to-toe check in around month 2 or so.) xoxo