Don’t Quit Coffee. Try This Instead

Coffee is the most popular drug in the world.

As a drink of gods, it enables billions of people daily to function. But it has its dark side, too.

When I got into coffee, I quickly became an avid drinker. I like its taste, love the smell, and use it as a regular kickstart for my day.

Only until things came crashing down and my sleep cycle was messed up. I couldn't sleep at night, felt sluggish during the day, and needed another shot to function.

I reached a point where I realized it couldn't go on like that. That's when I even thought about quitting coffee altogether.

Then, I found a better solution. Here's what I mean.

Drink water to wake up

For most, coffee is the preferred choice to get things going.

But did you know our bodies are capable of doing it without coffee? We even have a timed hormone production for it.

Our helper is called Cortisol.

When we wake up, its production spikes to help us wake up. Caffeine interferes with that and kills the production, resulting in us needing coffee to wake up. It's a vicious cycle.

The more caffeine, the less Cortisol, the more caffeine we need...

Don't.

Instead, drink water. This helps you get hydrated again and flush out toxins.

But let's be honest: when I stopped drinking coffee in the mornings, the first few were weird, even uncomfortable.

Because I was addicted to my caffeine shot, my body craved it. However, after only a week, my body was fine with the early water and woke up naturally.

Choose water over coffee in the mornings.

Time your coffee intake

Caffeine is a stubborn sucker.

You'll feel its effects after only 15 minutes, and they reach their peak after one hour.

Then its half-life is six hours, and even after ten hours, there still might be some traces of it in your body.

This means drinking coffee in the afternoon or later is often flawed.

Because even after lunch, you could feel its effects in the evening. And I can tell you a story or two (or 20) about that.

I like the taste of coffee, and there have been a couple of times when I wanted a small treat, meaning an excellent Italian espresso.

I'd drink my espresso or doppio at around 3pm, sometimes even later, and lay wide awake at 11pm because I couldn't sleep.

Things got better when I changed my routine and drank my often first and last coffee shortly after lunch.

I still got the energy boost of the caffeine. But until I went to bed, it was all gone, making me sleep like a baby.

Be smart about when you drink your coffee.

See it as what it is: a drug

Coffee is an amazing drink.

For the most part, it tastes great, and it gives us energy. That's a powerful and dangerous combination.

My coffee fandom goes back to when I first solo-traveled Italy in 2017. Before, I drank coffee maybe twice a week for the effect only.

But seeing these old coffee machines, smelling freshly ground coffee, and hearing the daily morning chatter at coffee bars, I was convinced this had to be part of my life, too.

I got into coffee.

Since then, I drank loads of it every week.

Up until I realized it messes with my body. I feared I had to quit coffee entirely because I couldn't handle it anymore.

But then I changed my perspective.

Instead of seeing it as a daily thing, I see it more as a particular type of drug. Similar to taking a drink.

Once or twice a week is great, but more often, it can get problematic.

Now, I have finally found a healthy way to appreciate and benefit from coffee.

Don't quit coffee just yet. Instead, be smart and:

• drink water in the early morning
• time your coffee intake
• see coffee as a drug