FMP 080 • How I Quit Caffeine and Failed Miserably (A Confession)

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“I forgot what it was like to sleep that well.”

I Quit Caffeine…For a Bit…

I had no idea how difficult quitting caffeine was going to be. I have been a coffee drinker since I was eighteen years old. No doubt that I started my caffeine addiction well before that drinking Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Jolt back in the day. The ubiquitous nature of caffeine addiction made my time away from the substance (albeit brief) a very interesting experiment.

As an adult, I consume caffeine via coffee. In tracking my intake, I discovered that I generally consume between 400 and 600 milligrams of caffeine each morning before I leave for my commute to work. In total, I can easily drink a litre of coffee to jump starting my day.

In this episode, I share my attempt and failure quitting caffeine. I also review the importance of limiting caffeine for specific populations, the neurotransmitters involved, and what I plan moving forward in terms of daily ingestion of caffeine.

Episode Outline

FMP 80 – Quick Caffeine and Failed

1. What We Do:
   • Behavioural Medicine and Health Psychology.
   • Providing easily accessible content designed to help you design your own transformative experience.
2. Today:
   • Take you on a very short lived adventure in cutting caffeine as part of my overall approach to managing anxiety.
3. How to Listen:
   • Can find this episode on podcast apps such as iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, etc.
   • Can watch on YouTube soon after each episode drop.
4. Want to be a Guest?
   • Email our team at podcast@findingmypsych.com

Quitting Caffeine

1. Why
   • To determine my baseline for anxiety.
   • To reduce my anxiety.
   • To look at hormone health (Cortisol spiking insulin and belly fat).
2. What The Research Says
   • If you have anxiety, caffeine, is, “bad news”.
   • Symptoms include:
     • Nervousness
     • Sweating
     • Insomnia
     • Restlessness
   • Caffeine Induced Panic:
     • About half of those with panic disorder could be induced via caffeine.
   • Who Should Avoid Caffeine?
     • Pregnant
     • Breastfeeding
     • Sleed Disorder
     • Migraines
     • Anxiety
     • GERD or Ulcers
     • Arrhythmia
     • High Blood Pressure
     • If you are taking certain antibiotics, asthma medications, or heart medicines.
3. Neurotransmitters
   1. Adenosine
      • Builds throughout the day causing you to feel sleepy at end of day (reduces activity in the brain).
      • Caffeine blocks adenosine until metabolized (10 hrs). By blocking, it causes a buildup of adenosine throughout the day. As caffeine wears off, you get a flood of adenosine, causing you to feel groggy in the morning – Then you drink some more.
4. My Strategy:
   • 400 to 600 MG per day down to 70mg using Decaf.
5. How I Felt
   • Challenges started when I jumped from 80 mg to zero.
   • Withdrawal is real! At least the perception of withdrawal.
     • Very Irritable
     • Brain Fog
     • Word Finding
   • Started to feel really calm – Unaffected by normal challenges throughout the day.
   • Sleep improved massively.
6. Why I Stopped
   • I missed feeling alert.
   • I felt bloated.
   • I understood my anxiety baseline
7. Balance
   • Now? – One cup (200mg) max a day.
   • I avoid diet cola drinks.
   • I avoid too much dark chocolate.

Closing Remarks

1. Thank you for joining me today!
2. Please join us on YouTube – Like and Subscribe.
3. On iTunes, Spotify, etc., Please share and subscribe.
4. Provide us feedback or your story at podcast@findingmypsych.com

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