I quit caffeine

why quit caffeine in the first place?

Many, especially software engineers, believe that caffeine is necessary in order to work and concentrate on a high level. However that could not be further from the truth.

I personally have not had a cup of coffee in over a month and I could not be happier. To be fair, I was drinking a cup or two a day¹, so maybe not a full-blown addict; but still, every day felt impossible to get through without the necessary cup of java.

I mainly wanted to quit coffee because the energy levels felt fake and improper. As a university student I used to get ~5 hours of sleep each night(and I used to take no naps) and so coffee felt like an absolute must. And to be fair it worked, to some degree. Coffee did help with NOT feeling drowsy.

However, it always felt like avoiding the problem rather than fixing it. My body felt awake, but my mind felt half asleep. I could hardly do any critical thinking/problem solving and it just felt like I had lost 40 IQ points and brain fog was taking over my brain.

I came to the conclusion that sleep is necessary, and that it can never be replaced by caffeine. So I needed to quit.

week 1

I was extremely tired and would yawn all day long no matter how much sleep I got(even 10~12 hours).

I also had 2 or 3 migraine headaches, which I managed to relieve with painkillers².

Overall it was a horrible week and I hardly got anything done.

week 2

The headaches had gone away at this point! But I still felt unmotivated.

I really wanted to cheat and go back to coffee but I did not give in to urges.

To be fair my mood did improve a little bit and I still managed to study ~1 hour every other day or so. It felt like my critical thinking was very slowly coming back.

week 3

This was a but of an odd week.

I almost felt alright; but not quite as joyful and contented as I had hoped. And the brain fog stupidity was still there.

It was also in the middle of the Persian new year's holidays so I wasn't home and couldn't compare my regular mood and experience to the previous week.

week 4

I feel like I can enjoy life to the fullest again. Not having to resort to caffeine or any other substance to temporarily change my mood.

And I regularly manage to study 6~8 hours a day and enjoy it actually!

Now, my whole body feels awake and alert, ready to experience the joy of experimentation and learning once again.

what now?

I try to get enough sleep; Be it by sleeping ~8 hours a night or taking naps after classes.

Back then, getting more sleep felt like lazily slacking off but now I fully understand the necessity of it and I would never replace it with caffeine or something else.