Coffee Had More Control Over Me Than I Realized: 6 Things I Learned After 10 Days Without It
Leah Newhouse | Pexels As a resolution, I decided that I was going to stop drinking coffee. Mind you, I am someone who loves her coffee. Anyone who has met me has seen me with a coffee cup in my hand at least once. I walk into Dunkin, and the cashier knows my order and hands it to me as I walk up to the register.
All of my friends give me Dunkin' Donuts gift cards for my birthday and Christmas (if you’re a coffee drinker, you know how amazing this is). I always jokingly say that I need it to live. But I’m serious, if I don’t have my coffee, I can’t function. I’m not myself without coffee.
I decided to cut back on coffee because I was too reliant on it. Let’s face it, your pocket becomes pretty empty when you’re spending $3.79 on an iced coffee every morning. So, I decided to cut back and stopped drinking it for 10 days, and let me tell you, coffee had more control over me than I realized because it was an experience.
Here are 6 things I learned after days without coffee and realizing how much control it had over me:
1. The headaches were next-level
I’m someone who gets very, very painful headaches. I get so many that I keep Advil with me at all times. I am such an avid coffee drinker that it is usually helpful if I get one during the day. Cutting back on coffee made my painful headaches unbearable to the point where I couldn’t focus on what I was doing.
Caffeine withdrawal headache occurs when regular coffee consumption stops, because caffeine constricts blood vessels, and cutting it causes a sudden rush of blood flow to the brain. According to one study, withdrawal symptoms can kick in within 12 to 24 hours of your last cup and reach peak intensity within the first two days.
2. I wasn't just sleepy — I was completely exhausted
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This is probably the main reason as to why I went back to drinking coffee. I didn’t realize how much I relied on it to keep me awake during the day. I work in a classroom of first graders, and when you get home, naturally, you’d think I would be tired, but I was exhausted. I’d nearly fall asleep on the car ride home, type of exhausted. I’d come home and just collapse on my couch from being so tired.
When you stop drinking coffee, your brain's adenosine receptors get flooded with signals that caffeine was previously blocking, which is what drives that intense fatigue and drowsiness. One study
confirmed that decreased energy and drowsiness are among the most well-validated caffeine withdrawal symptoms, typically hitting their peak intensity between 20 and 51 hours after your last cup.
3. I found myself more forgetful than usual
I like to think of myself as someone who has a pretty good memory, with or without coffee. When I stopped drinking coffee, I forgot everything. I forgot my lunch bag for work, and I even forgot to actually pack my lunch, so I ended up having to eat pretzels that I had in my bag from another day.
A 2005 study found that caffeine withdrawal had multiple negative effects on participants, including measurable impairment of cognitive performance and reduced alertness and clear-headedness.
4. I was way more irritable than I expected
I am a very nice person. I’m very easygoing. I’m willing to laugh at myself, and I have a good sense of humor. If I trip over my own two feet, I’ll be the first person to burst out laughing. Without my morning coffee, I would find myself rolling my eyes at things, making really snippy remarks, and one time, I actually yelled at a couple of coworkers for really dumb reasons. (For those people. I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me.)
However, without coffee, it’s as if that personality goes away, and I become this mean, cranky person who, frankly, I’m afraid of. Research explains that when you quit caffeine, your brain reduces dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex, which is directly responsible for that low mood and the short-fuse feelings that seem to come out of nowhere.
5. I wasn’t fully there
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This sort of ties back into point three: without my coffee, I didn’t pay attention to anything around me, people would ask me something, and I wouldn’t pay attention to what they had said.
I was in the car with my dad, and it wasn’t until probably a good 20 minutes into the conversation that he asked me a question, and I realized that he was talking to me. One study found that people who gave up caffeine had noticeably slower reaction times and struggled to stay focused on tasks, so if you've ever completely tuned out of a conversation without meaning to, your missing coffee might be the culprit.
6. I realized I’m someone who genuinely needs coffee to function
Johns Hopkins University researchers found that withdrawal symptoms like fatigue and irritability can last up to 10 days in some people, which means that cutting back gradually rather than all at once can make the process a lot more manageable.
But I did also realize that I actually am ok if I don’t have it. I’ve cut down from getting a medium iced coffee every day to getting one large one once a week. Maybe you can try it out and see how it goes, who knows? Maybe you’ll surprise yourself.
Emma Spear is a student, paraeducator, writer, and contributor to Unwritten. She has a passion for writing about mental health, self-care, and education.
