Author: Maryam Ayres
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
October 31, 2022
The first consequences of giving up coffee are not the most pleasant: headache, fatigue and even constipation. But within six months, the body should recover.
The first sensations will not be pleasant.
If the attachment to coffee has turned into something sick or you feel that caffeine has a bad effect on your well-being, you can try to give it up. As a precaution, do not forget to consult a doctor - serious and drastic changes in lifestyle can be harmful.
We tell you what can await you after giving up caffeine.
The first two days are the hardest. It is likely that the body will rebel when it does not receive the usual dose.
Most likely, you will feel tired - just because you are missing that exciting feeling that usually appears 20 minutes after drinking a cup of coffee.
Mia Filkenston Medical doctor, family therapist.
According to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Medical Research, every second person who recently gave up coffee complains of irritability, loss of concentration, and headaches. Constipation, insomnia and dizziness may also appear.
To facilitate the process, do not give up caffeine suddenly and immediately. If you want, allow yourself a few sips of your favorite drink. It will help you survive the most difficult days.
Most often, headache, insomnia and other side effects disappear within 72 hours. But the speed with which the body gets used to living without caffeine is individual. It depends on personal characteristics and the amount of coffee you are used to drinking every day.
However, most likely, any physical discomfort should go away within a week.
It takes about 30 days for the body to say goodbye to caffeine as a nervous system stimulant. Therefore, in some people, muscle activity will temporarily decrease. Including the walls of the intestines, so constipation may return.
If you are constipated, drink more fluids, eat foods rich in fiber and try to move more actively.
Mia Filkenston Medical doctor.
Not everyone will experience this side effect. But in most people, the body will begin to restore adenosine receptors to their original level - they were previously blocked by caffeine. As a result, the sensitivity to adenosine, a substance that signals fatigue, will return.
This is a need: the body needs to restore strength. Adenosine tells the brain about the lack of energy, after which the heart rate decreases, blood pressure decreases, and the person begins to drift off to sleep. Thanks to adenosine receptors, you will better feel the body's needs and rest when necessary.
When the caffeine stops artificially stimulating your body, the body will remember how to adjust the activity naturally. Yes, the number of receptors in the brain will increase, which, if necessary, will force the adrenal glands to produce more adrenaline.
Sleep, mental health, digestion will return to the state they were in before you became addicted to caffeine.
Mia Filkenston Medical doctor.
Remember that age, weight, and medications you take can affect recovery.