| for reference: I regularly took 200mg or more a day through diet coke. Quit a little over a year ago with 20mg caffeine pills for about a week or two. Had headaches the entire two weeks. I had a total tolerance to caffeine at this point. I could drink an entire can right before bed and sleep absolutely fine. I think my productivity increased, but really it was just removing the "brain fog" of feeling like I had to ingest more caffeine that boosted my productivity. Things that changed for me: * no more "I forgot to drink caffeine/didn't have access, now I have withdrawl". * my hangovers after drinking alcohol are more tolerable or gone. * no more compulsive soda drinking when bored Things that didn't change for me: * sleep * energy * overall mood * weight * caffeine still has no (or imperceptible) impact on me when I drink small amounts from tea. Most months I go with 0mg. I think many people ascribe quitting coffee, soda, or caffeine to many of the things that didn't impact me, but those same people also note other life changes they did at the same time and I suspect that had a greater impact for them. That said, I replaced my caffine habit with seltzer/sparkling water (which helps trick me into thinking it is a soda). I now drink large amounts of seltzer instead. Every time I see a diet coke? Anxiety spikes, I have to strongly resist the urge to drink it. Caffeine addiction was pretty terrible for me. |
I found switching to sparkling water (we bought a Soda Stream) helped me here. Now I get a real soda maybe once every week or two as a "treat" (basically the now rare occasion we order takeout) and can resist them when in an office (rarely these days) with a vending machine.