There are a lot of reasons as to why you should quit caffeine. As you well know, caffeine products have plenty of side effects not forgetting that caffeine products are expensive. If you go to the coffee shop, you will notice that coffee is expensive and affordable to a few people. Most people have opted to withdraw from caffeine substances, although this comes with a huge cost as most people tend to experience bad withdrawal symptoms. In case you have opted for caffeine withdrawal what to expect afterward will be discussed down below.
Contents
Overview
Most people that consume caffeine products regularly are very familiar with some of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms. In case you decide that you are skipping your coffee in the morning, you will start to feel some unpleasant effects some hours afterward, which ranges from mild symptoms to severe symptoms depending on how much caffeine you usually take regularly. Caffeine withdrawal is what to expect at most times is headaches, which are the most common symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.
Some of the other symptoms that arise due to caffeine withdrawal are fatigue and irritability. These caffeine withdrawal symptoms that we have mentioned above tend to direct people back to the caffeine products in order to feel relieved.
Related: Caffeine Body Aches and Symptoms
Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms and Signs
As we have already discussed above, Caffeine withdrawal comes along with symptoms that you should be wary of. Some of the symptoms and signs accompanied by withdrawal of caffeine products are as follows.
Headache
As we have already mentioned, headaches are the most common symptoms that accompany caffeine withdrawal. It is very similar to a migraine headache in the sense that the headache is usually followed by vasodilation, which means that your blood vessels are widening in the neck and head. It is also very similar to the migraine headache as it tends to take the hemicrania condition or the headache can be experienced at one region of your head. You should know that most of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms as we have already discussed, are similar to that of a migraine.
Vomiting and nausea
Stomach upsets and nausea, tend to be more common symptoms experienced by people that have withdrawn from caffeine products as opposed to vomiting, even though all of them are caffeine withdrawal symptoms. For those that do not know, nausea is the unpleasant feeling that people experience when they are about to vomit.
Negative mood
Often referred to as dysphoria, negative moods are a major symptom accompanied by caffeine withdrawal. Those that have opted to no longer use caffeine products, tend to experience various unpleasant moods, which range from feeling irritable or anxious to feeling depressed. You should be in a good position to know that these feelings tend to be temporary, hence when the withdrawal period is over, so are the negative moods and feelings.
Mental fogginess
Most people tend to describe mental fogginess in very many ways, although all these ways rotate around the fact that your brain, in general, does not function effectively when you decide to withdraw from caffeine products. Various lab tests and research shows that if you decide to withdraw from various caffeine products, your performance on various mental tasks becomes poor. You should be in a good position to know that mental fogginess is a side effect arising from the performance-enhancing and stimulating caffeine effects. Consuming more caffeine products will simply repeat the cycle, hence in case you want to stop using caffeine products, it is better that you slowly reduce the caffeine amount as you plan to leave it completely.
Lightheadedness or dizziness
In case you opt for caffeine withdrawal what to expect afterward includes symptoms such as lightheadedness or dizziness. It is highly recommended that you gradually reduce your caffeine consumption other than abruptly stopping of which as we have already discussed has a lot of unpleasant effects. You should always take it easy when considering stopping using caffeine products. Pushing yourself to work while feeling dizzy or lightheaded can increase the chances of fainting. You should be in a good position to know that caffeine withdrawal symptoms tend to kick in within twelve to twenty-four hours after last taking caffeine. The whole withdrawal process usually lasts for not more than ten days.
Relief and coping
Research and further studies on caffeine have shown that the most effective method and the easiest in order to relieve yourself in case you have opted to withdraw from caffeine products is to consume more caffeine. You should be in a good position to check the caffeine amount in common drinks and food and ensure that you do not surpass the caffeine amount you are used to in order to prevent further caffeine addiction.
How to Slow and Taper Caffeine Intake
As we have already discussed, one of the best methods that you can consider in order to taper your daily caffeine intake is by reducing your caffeine consumption by ten percent after two weeks. After some duration, you will find that you are caffeine-free although this might take you several months. One advantage of slowing and tapering consumption of caffeine is that you won’t have noticeable symptoms and replacing the caffeinated drinks and food with decaffeinated or un-caffeinated versions is quite easy.
You should be in a good position to possess a diary, where you can list down all the drinks and food containing caffeine that you want to stop. You should ensure to check all labels of supplements or painkillers to see whether caffeine is included. As we have already mentioned above, you should reduce caffeine consumption by ten percent while keeping your daily record. You can do this easily as there are many methods. Some people tend to reduce their caffeine beverage by ten percent and diluting it well by the addition of cold or hot water or rather decaffeinated tea or coffee.
Some people can find this method hard and consider reducing the actual caffeine beverages by ten percent. In case back at home, you usually take about four cups containing coffee on a daily basis, you should be in a good position to replace a cup with half the amount for two weeks, as you gradually decrease the caffeine amount till it is no more.
As the caffeine withdrawal symptoms gradually decrease, it is highly recommended and important that you substitute the caffeinated drink with a non-caffeinated beverage that includes decaffeinated tea or coffee, water, or herbal tea. Doing this is very beneficial as you will develop taste for non-caffeinated beverages gradually. If you follow these methods to the latter, you will be able to sleep well at night not worrying about the caffeine withdrawal symptoms that can leave you very stressed.
Warnings
As of now, caffeine withdrawal and what to expect afterward should not disturb you. Most of the food and beverages sold do not have labels that show whether or not they have caffeine, hence it is very difficult to track and monitor your caffeine consumption daily. You should be in a good position to know the foods and beverages that contain caffeine and never forget to check the food labels to see if they contain caffeine or not.
As you gradually overcome the caffeine withdrawal symptoms, the mood typically changes. In case you are still in an unpleasant mood even after you have successfully tapered your caffeine consumption, you should go see a doctor. In other cases, you will find that mental problems underlie the addiction, becoming more apparent after you have abolished caffeine intake. You should be in a good position to visit a doctor that will give you an appropriate treatment. In other cases, you will find that the mental problem is triggered by the use of drugs including the use of caffeine products. In this case, the only solution is visiting a doctor. For headaches or the other symptoms accompanied by caffeine withdrawal, you should be able to carefully check the pain relievers label to see if they contain caffeine elements or not.
Long-term Treatment
As you are well aware, caffeine withdrawal generally passes quickly, with most of the symptoms being fairly mild hence with pain relievers and self-care it is easily manageable. In order to relieve yourself from caffeine products for a long duration, you should be in a good position to know the different consumables that contain caffeine and carefully watch your consumption levels. It is very easy for one to start consuming large amounts of caffeine, hence it is very important and highly recommended that you know the different drinks and food that contain caffeine and know the different medications containing caffeine.
Conclusion: Caffeine Withdrawal What to Expect
As of now caffeine withdrawal what to expect afterward should not be a big concern if you follow the methods that we have discussed above. Even though caffeine is used worldwide, there are health benefits as to why you should reduce caffeine consumption especially if back at home you are faced with unpleasant side effects. As you can clearly see, it is very easy to slow down and taper your caffeine addiction, something that will benefit you in the long run.
