I recall waking up tired over a month ago at 6 am. Getting out of my cozy bed was challenging, but I knew I had to if I wanted to attain my fitness goal. Going to the gym increases my energy levels and enhances my mood for the rest of the day. However, I understand that achieving this goal will demand discipline and effort to push through my training and improve my strength.
By the time I woke up that day, making coffee was the first thing I’d do to start my day before I was exercising. With my mediocre skill of making pour-over, I prepared my 20 grams of ground coffee with 300ml water at 93–95 degrees Celsius, so it exactly tasted like I wanted.
Making coffee in the morning also makes me feel good about myself because it works like a ritual. Something that I know I should do by the time I wake up, which gives me a sense of achievement that comes from doing something that requires focus in the morning:
Precisely calculating how much water I must pour over the coffee within a limited time. Plus, I love the taste of a cup of hot black coffee.
In that sense, coffee works like a drug to feel energized before I go to the gym.
Historically, coffee has been brewed in the same way as today since mid of 15th century, when coffee was first introduced by Sufi circles to stay awake for their religious rituals. In fact, most people consume it as an essential energy booster to feel more alert and energized.
It is widely used worldwide for many reasons, such as improving mental focus, participating in a social aspect, improving weight loss, increasing energy level, improving dopamine, etc.
Due to its many benefits, coffee has become one of the most traded commodities in the world, with an overall market size of US$495B in 2023, with a CAGR of 4.4% in 2023–2025. The US market drives most of the coffee revenue by around US$95B.
Now, let’s talk about what makes coffee, a coffee and an addiction.
Caffeine and Addiction
Coffee, as we know it today, owes its energizing effects to caffeine. This central nervous system stimulant fights fatigue and boosts energy levels by blocking receptor of a neurotransmitter called adenosine. This, in turn, increases the levels of other neurotransmitters, including dopamine, which regulate energy levels in the brain. So, whenever you need a quick energy boost during the day, caffeine in coffee is what you turn to:
Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that relaxes the brain and makes you feel tired. Normally, adenosine levels build up over the day, making you increasingly more tired and causing you to want to go to sleep.
Now you know what caffeine does to your brain. So, what will happen if you consume more coffee?
Blocking more adenosine receptors makes you more awake and increases your tolerance level, which means you need to consume more coffee to achieve the same level of alertness.
After frequent consumption, caffeine can cause changes in brain cells that affect their response to neurotransmitters. These changes can lead to a dependency on caffeine, as the altered brain cannot function well without it. This is why many people turn to coffee to boost their energy and mood when feeling tired or experiencing headaches and to continue their activities.
I knew I had a problem because I strongly depended on caffeine to make me feel I could be a functioning human being. I didn’t take the time to understand my emotions, whether I was tired, not getting enough sleep, or simply addicted to caffeine. Instead, I used caffeine to numb it. I didn’t try to figure out the root cause and address it. I suspect this is a typical behavior among many people today.
Dr. Huberman has a good quote about this particular problem:
Lesson Learned
I had reached a point where drinking coffee no longer had a noticeable effect on me, despite drinking it almost daily. I would have it in the morning before going to the gym and throughout the day while working. I realized something was off and decided to challenge myself to 30 days without coffee to reset my caffeine tolerance and feel its effects again.
Here are 7 lessons I learned during my caffeine fasting for 30 days, with no order:
No energy spike, but it sustains longer during gym session
I have been consuming coffee to boost my energy level for my gym training for about a year, but I realized that the effect was no longer there. I felt a spike in energy, but it only lasted for about 15 minutes, then my energy level went to the floor faster than an apple fell from its tree.
Without coffee, I realized there was no energy spike, but I also realized that my energy level was dropping slowly. So I could last longer in the gym without feeling fatigued too early during the session.
I didn’t have coffee, so I did more and longer warm-ups to get my body ready for my workout. I realized that I had been neglecting a proper warm-up for a while, but it made a big difference in maintaining the quality of my workout and boosting my energy early on.
I lose the social aspect of coffee
Coffee is not just consumed for its caffeine content but also for its social benefits. It has always been a staple in conversations in coffee shops and offices. Drinking coffee with friends and colleagues provides an opportunity to socialize, earn, debate, converse, and network about various topics, including culture and politics.
Studies have found that coffee is a great way for coworkers to talk about the workplace and cope with what is going on at work. Having coffee available in the workplace can help strengthen the friendships within the workplace.
While experimenting, I couldn’t hang out and drink coffee like my friends. I had to decline whenever they asked me to join them downstairs in the office. It just didn’t feel the same without a cup of good coffee on the table while enjoying the company of my closest friends. It was even painful, as I missed my morning coffee ritual with them.
Sleep faster, better
I have a consistent sleep schedule, waking up and going to bed at the same time every day. Typically, I start feeling tired around 8 pm, and by 10 pm, I’m ready to sleep so I can wake up refreshed at 6 am. I follow this routine closely, so I am aware if anything disrupts my productivity.
Without coffee, I tend to feel drowsy around 3–5 pm.
Maintaining a social life after a certain hour was difficult, but I realized it was just a withdrawal effect during the first two weeks. Now, I feel normal again, although I still experience it occasionally in the afternoon, but it’s not as challenging as before.
Interestingly, my quality of sleep went to the roof!
I fell asleep in just 15 minutes and woke up feeling better than usual. It’s easy to overlook how much caffeine can impact the quality of our sleep. By consuming too much coffee during the day, we may unknowingly develop an addiction and struggle with getting a good night’s rest.
Caffeine begins to affect your body very quickly. It reaches a peak level in your blood within 30 to 60 minutes. It has a half-life of 3 to 5 hours. The half-life is the time it takes for your body to eliminate half of the drug. The remaining caffeine can stay in your body for a long time:
The recommended cut-off time for caffeine use is at least eight hours before bedtime. For example, if you typically go to bed at 10 pm, avoiding caffeine after 2 pm may help minimize sleep problems
Use your coffee for your benefits wisely, fellas!
Headache
Headaches can occur unexpectedly, and my go-to remedy used to be coffee. Whenever I experienced a headache, I relied on coffee as an antidote to numb the pain. However, I soon realized that this became an addiction, and I was nurturing a dinosaur inside of me that would ultimately consume me.
Instead of addressing the root cause of my headaches, I relied on caffeine to alleviate the symptoms. Perhaps my headaches resulted from exhaustion, and all I needed was rest, but I refused to acknowledge this and continued to consume caffeine.
If you regularly consume caffeine and suddenly stop, you may experience headaches as a withdrawal symptom. In my own experience, the first few days were tough, and the headaches were intense. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do except endure them until they passed.
Fortunately, the headaches gradually diminished in the following days. As a result, I rarely experience withdrawal symptoms now. I believe that a restful night’s sleep is all necessary for me.
Push myself to workout and see sunlight to wake me up
I used to need a coffee to slap me in the face to wake me up. Now, I must push myself for a good quick workout if I can’t go to the gym.
Exercising boosts oxygen circulation inside your body. This increase in oxygen supports energy production and allows your body to function better and use its energy more efficiently. Plus, your body gets a boost from an exercise-induced increase in hormone levels that makes you feel more energized.
Recently, I’ve also been experimenting with Dr. Huberman’s suggestion of exposing myself to sunlight first thing in the morning. This helps me feel more alert and positive, and I recommend trying it:
Having sunlight on my eyes and skin makes me more awake and feel good about myself because I can force myself to do something I wasn’t supposed to do normally.
I am more grateful for a cup of coffee
Often, we take things for granted. We only appreciate things once they are no longer available to us. This was when I lost access to my daily cup of delicious coffee. As I walked past a coffee shop, I couldn’t resist the allure of the coffee bean machine. Its temptation was so strong that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I recently completed a 30-day caffeine fast, and I vividly remember my delicious cup of coffee after my morning run. The caffeine had a stronger impact than usual, increasing by 40–60%, and the dopamine rush kicked in again. Despite feeling tired and hungry, the ice-long black I ordered at a nearby coffee shop re-energized me, leaving me feeling content and happy. This experience has reminded me of how enjoyable coffee can be when consumed in moderation.
I want to experience the same excitement when drinking coffee as a toddler when receiving a new toy. I don’t want to take my coffee for granted. I believe I have developed a good relationship with my coffee, and here are the rules I follow:
- Avoid coffee for the first two hours post waking up. Use workout and sunlight to get slapped in the face.
- Do not consume coffee more than two days in a row.
- Do not consume coffee after 3pm in the afternoon.
- Limit coffee intake to only 3x in a week.
- Consume only one coffee in a day.
I don’t find the rules I set for myself to be difficult to follow. When I can achieve my goals, it brings me happiness. Rewarding myself with a good cup of coffee occasionally is enough to give me a dopamine boost.
Having more self-control to not depend on external sources to feel good
After completing my challenge, I feel much better as I no longer rely on external sources to feel good about myself. I have regained control over my daily activities and what I put to my body. The withdrawal symptoms have disappeared, and the urge to drink coffee when I feel low energy, headaches, or lack of motivation is no longer present. I sleep better, faster. That’s all that matters.
I no longer feel like an addict now. It’s freeing. I can’t wait to have my next cup of coffee soon!
P.S. This post was originally published on Fitgeist.
