Last week I decided to stop drinking my morning coffee. Why? For purely vain reasons - I felt that my teeth were starting to appear less than fabulous, a little stained. I also wanted to challenge myself to figure out if I was truly a coffee addict. The verdict: I, Lauren, am a full blown addict!
The first day wasn't so bad. But days two through four were dreadful. I had an annoying headache that started conveniently at work, lasted all day and made it incredibly hard to workout. Then, this past Monday, the headache mother-load landed. I had such a bad migraine that I had to leave work due to the pain and nausea. So, I did a little research on caffeine withdrawal to see if this was normal.
Withdrawal symptoms can include:
- Headache (check)
- Fatigue (check)
- Anxiety
- Irritability (check)
- Depressed mood
- Difficulty concentrating (check)
Steps to avoiding withdrawal:
Back off gradually - Begin by mixing caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, over time increase the decaffeinated portion. I did not do this, and I believe it would have helped me greatly reduce my risk of headaches. I am now drinking tea in the morning to still "feel" like I have a coffee-like drink with me.
Use Excedrin to help ease the headache. It has some caffeine in it, so it can take the edge off.
All in all, after reading more about coffee for this post, there really are not that many negative impacts to your health. Although, for me, a less than white smile was just not worth it!
XOXO,
Lauren
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