What happens when you abstain from caffeine

If you have been drinking coffee or any caffeinated drinks on a long term basis and in higher than average quantities, you come to depend on it for your daily activities.

The moment you stop taking it, you find yourself unable to function. Your mind goes through some kind of slow motion process. You feel tired. You get upset and maybe even angry as the day goes further.

How I know?

That’s exactly what happen to me every time when I stop drinking caffeinated drinks abruptly. I become depressed, almost non-functional and angry without caffeine.

Although it’s a painful process to stop taking caffeine, it is necessary if you want to live a better life. It has definitely helped me.

I suffer from hyperhidrosis for more than half of my life. Hyperhidrosis, for the uninformed, is excessive sweating even in conditions that don’t warrant it. It is caused by hyperactive nerves.

By not taking caffeine for several days, my nerves are no longer overly stimulated, which translates to lesser sweating. It doesn’t mean I don’t sweat more than normal people. I still get clammy hands and feet but at least, it is not dripping wet. I also don’t sweat that excessively all over when walking even a short distance and have my clothes drenched in sweat. Yikes.

I am also a highly-sensitive person. I get overwhelmed by life and work more easily. I also have higher tendency to suffer from anxiety attacks. Without psychostimulants like caffeine coursing through my body, I am calmer and less agitated. my mind doesn’t go into overdrive mode. It allows me to process my environment more deeply, absorb more, and think more deeply. It definitely help with my learning process, which is important when you are a software engineer.

Last but not least, abstaining from caffeine also helps me to sleep better at night because my circadian rhythm get reset back to normal. With that, my body starts to operate as how it should. I will get sleepy and tired after a heavy lunch or a long day of work. That’s what I call normal. At least it means your body is reacting to the natural biochemical changes as you go about your day. It also reduce my chance of suffering from insomnia.

So start making your life better by reducing, if not outright stop, your consumption of coffee. Instead, find other ways or means to stay awake. Or you can just listen to your body and take that nap when you need to.

**This post was originally published at Medium.