After two decades of drinking caffeinated beverages, I never imagined quitting. I was in complete denial about any negative effects, convinced that my relatively modest intake—one tablespoon of ground coffee (pour-over method) in the morning and a yerba mate (50 mg of caffeine) a few hours later — was minimal compared to others. What was truly shocking was discovering how even this small amount could have such an impact. You don’t realize the extent of caffeine’s effect until you’re completely free of it.
Why I Decided to Quit Caffeine
Recently, I felt a sudden, divine inspiration to quit cold turkey, and I did just that. The changes within just one week have left me astounded. I had an epiphany a few days in, because I felt so different being un-caffeinated. I kind of felt like I had been living a lie for years. It’s hard to describe the weight that was lifted, but I’ll share more details of that experience in the journal entries.
I’ll walk you through my first week off caffeine, the physical and emotional challenges I faced, and the profound realizations that have changed my perspective on this seemingly innocent drink. I’ll start with an overview and summary before diving into each day’s experiences.
Week 1 Experiences After Quitting Coffee – Summary
Dreaming and Deep Sleep
This first week off caffeine has brought several noticeable changes, particularly in my sleep patterns. I feel very different when I wake up now. I used to wake up abruptly and fully alert, but I now find myself groggy upon waking. However, by day 7, I noticed that although I still wake up groggy, I snap out of it within 15 minutes or less and feel ready to start the day. This is a significant improvement from earlier in the week, and I no longer feel grouchy in the mornings as I did during the first few days without coffee. Because I’m currently going through this transition of not having coffee, I believe it will take a couple of months to see any solid patterns in my sleep changes. I will share with you the data I have so far though.
Although I slept close to 9 hours on one of the days, I haven’t noticed a consistent pattern of longer sleep duration at this time. I’m also having extremely memorable and vivid dreams every day, which is something I haven’t experienced since my teenage years. In addition, I’m no longer having a crash a 6 PM, where I cannot physically keep my eyes open – and fall asleep like an old grandpa on the couch. Now, I remain alert and awake until my bedtime, which has settled around 7:00 PM. Though early for most, this has been my schedule for the past 8+ months, and changing it is a challenge I’m still navigating.
Less Bathroom Trips
When drinking coffee, I’d wake up feeling like I really had to use the bathroom and on a few occasions, I’d wake up in the middle of the night because of it. Since dropping coffee, I don’t feel it will be an issue anymore.
Less Hungry
One surprising change has been with my hunger levels. For a while now, I’ve struggled with excessive hunger, particularly since starting on carnivore as an elimination diet. Even after reintroducing some foods, I couldn’t fully resolve the constant hunger. However, over this past week, I only woke up feeling very hungry once, likely due to not eating enough the previous day. Otherwise, that relentless hunger currently feels like it has subsided, and I’ve been eating my first meal later as a result. This is a big benefit for me.
Blood Glucose is Elevated
Over the past week, my blood glucose levels have been elevated, compared to normal. I am currently wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), so I can see that my average glucose levels are decently higher than normal (in the upper 90s to 100 on average). I’ve been wearing a CGM for about a month and a half, and this has happened at least once previously when I was in a stressful situation. Even though I feel calm, my body is undergoing a lot of changes and it seems to be impacting my blood glucose levels.
Calm & Balanced
I’ve also felt calmer and more at peace, with a renewed focus on completing outdoor projects that I had been putting off. The first few days were challenging, with extreme fatigue and grogginess, leading me to rest a lot. But by the end of the week, I’ve felt more balanced overall. Although I’m not feeling the high-energy that I used to, but I also don’t feel super tired like I need to fall asleep at any moment, so it seems that my body is adjusting. One thing I learned this week is that if I am really tired, I can just take a short, ultra-refreshing nap. I’d never been able to do that previously because of the caffeine being in my system. Additionally, I’ve noticed that I’m more emotional in a healthy way, which makes me realize that my emotions may have been blunted for some time. This emotional clarity has been a welcome change.
Feeling Optimistic
I know my day-to-day experiences so far haven’t been the most inspiring, because it’s been a bit of a challenge. The first few days were unpleasant, but they could have been a lot worse. At the time of writing this, I am on day 8 of this journey and I’m feeling a lot better today. I know every day is a new experience, but today I’ve found myself a lot more productive once I got myself going in the morning. I’ll probably need to make some adjustments to my morning routine. As of day 8, I feel a lot more back to normal and I feel like I can focus with better mental clarity and do work on the computer again. Earlier in the week I was unable to concentrate, but that seems to have subsided for the most-part, so I am really happy about that.
Day-By-Day Experiences with Quitting Coffee (All Caffeine)
Day 0 – The Decision
A switch flipped and I decided to quit caffeine. I didn’t have a real solid plan going into this, and I also didn’t tell my son right away because I wasn’t sure of what I was doing at the time.
Day 1 (Sunday 8-4-24) Quitting Day
Today was tough. I felt fine this morning, but by the afternoon, I developed a pretty bad headache. I spent most of the day being unproductive and lounging around. I ended up playing a couple very old video games, then just watching TV, waiting for the day to end so I could go to sleep and rid myself of the headache.
Oura Stats:
- Sleep Score: 88
- Total Sleep: 8 hours
- Wake-ups: 4 times
- REM: 32%
- Deep Sleep: 11%
Day 2 (Monday 8-5-24) Tempted
The headache persisted, but it was milder and sporadic. I tried to keep busy with outdoor work, avoiding the computer because I couldn’t focus. For the first time, I noticed how light I felt without caffeine’s constant presence. It was like shedding a toxic layer I didn’t even know existed. I had one weak moment of temptation where I turned my kettle on, and I was tempted to cheat and make a coffee, but then I just walked away from it and forgot about it. It was the only time during this week that I was tempted to make a coffee.
Oura Stats
- Sleep Score: 86
- Total Sleep: 8 hours
- Wake-ups: 4 times
- REM: 27%
- Deep Sleep: 12%
Day 3 (Tuesday 8-6-24) Amazing Nap
I woke up while in REM, actively in a dream. This morning I feel fine, yet tired, and not motivated or focused enough to do work on the computer. I took a 1 hour nap in the morning at 9:00 AM and felt amazing. I went into REM and into deep sleep during the nap. I normally can never take naps due to having coffee in my system. I noticed today that I am not as hungry as I normally am.
Oura Stats:
- Sleep Score: 96
- Total Sleep: 8 hours 55 minutes
- Wake-ups: 1 time
- REM: 30%
- Deep Sleep: 16%
- Nap: 1 hour (9:00 AM to 10:00 AM)
Day 4 (Wednesday 8-7-24) – The Epiphany
Today was a turning point for me & I threw out all caffeinated products from my home. I was on caffeine for the last 20 years, so that’s all I knew and all I’ve ever experienced. I had no idea that it could alter you in such a profound way, until getting off of it. Even after being off of it for only four days, I can sense such a huge difference in how I feel. I now feel so peaceful and calm, like a weight has been lifted.
I used caffeine as a tool to help me stay ultra focused and get a lot of work done. But, I also dealt with a lot of fatigue and I didn’t realize until now that it was also the cause of my evening crash. This only started happening over the last year; every time I hang out with my son in the evening and we watch some shows together, I pass out like an old man on the couch. I cannot keep my eyes open past 6 PM. I didn’t realize until now that I was having a caffeine crash.
I wish I could put all of this into words better; I just feel like a different person. And, I cannot believe that I lived in that altered state for so long, to the point where it became my normal. I am extremely grateful for the change and these realizations. Today I was emotional when thinking about this major change and how noticeable it is that I feel so different.
I didn’t sleep as much last night, but I did get more sleep than normal. I have had a mild headache today, but it feels similar to sinus headaches I’ve been having lately due to high pollen levels.
Oura Stats:
- Sleep Score: 87
- Total Sleep: 7 hours 12 minutes
- Wake-ups: 1-2 times
- REM: 24%
- Deep Sleep: 20%
Day 5 (Thursday 8-8-24) Unproductive and Emotional
Very tired today and I fell asleep on the couch twice. I noticed I’ve been a bit grouchy in the mornings, which isn’t like me. I did some intense outdoor work with the chainsaw, for about an hour. Not productive today and I cannot focus, or do work on the computer. Watched a 1990s movie in the evening and became pretty emotional from it, which is very unusual. Today I also ate only meat (carnivore) as a brief experiment to see if it would impact my sleep or hunger. I will do a follow-up experiment with this because it’s too soon to know as my body is adjusting to life without caffeine now.
Oura Stats:
- Sleep Score: 90
- Total Sleep: 7 hours 50 minutes
- Wake-ups: 1 time
- REM: 26%
- Deep Sleep: 14%
Day 6 (Friday 8-9-24) Groggy and Unfocused
Today was rough. I felt groggy, a bit grouchy, and disconnected, almost like I was battling a mild depression. I couldn’t focus on work, so I threw myself into physical tasks outside, and that helped keep me busy and I felt much better in the evening.
Oura Stats:
- Sleep Score: 82
- Total Sleep: 7 hours 30 minutes
- Wake-ups: 2 times
- REM: 19%
- Deep Sleep: 10%
Day 7 (Saturday 8-10-24) Productive Outside
I woke up remembering my dreams again and feeling very groggy, but it subsided within 15 minutes. Today I was able to focus and concentrate on the computer but only for the morning, so I did lots of work outside to stay busy. I didn’t feel exhausted like I would when on caffeine, but I also didn’t feel motivated enough to do work on the computer. I am used to having such an amped up level of energy, it’s hard to adjust to anything less than that. I didn’t feel tired today, but also not energized.
I was productive today with making a lot of food, seeking energy in healthy meals. I worked outside numerous times, doing some pretty intense physical work. Amazingly, I’ve noticed this week that even when I’m doing such intense work, the soreness is totally gone by the next morning. I am not definitively stating that this is from a lack of caffeine, but my observation this week is that I’ve had no issues with past injuries and that is somewhat unusual. In the past, if I would just use a drill, it would inflame my shoulder and that evening my sleep would be negatively impacted because my fingers would go numb and my arm would hurt. I was previously diagnosed with bursitis and thoracic outlet, among other things.
Oura Stats
- Sleep Score: 83
- Total Sleep: 7 hours 30 minutes
- Wake-ups: 1 time
- REM: 17%
- Deep Sleep: 20%
Day 8 (Sunday 8-11-24) Bonus Details
I’m writing this blog post on day 8 of quitting coffee, so I thought I should give another short update as a bonus. Today I woke up groggy, but it subsided quickly and I’ve been a lot more focused today – so I was productive on the computer for a good number of hours and I also did a little workout on my rebounder, and I felt like I could work out more than normal and I wasn’t really tired.
My Son’s Perspective
I asked my son for his thoughts on any changes he’s noticed in me this past week, and he said, “You’re worse than normal.” By that, he’s referring to how I’ve been groggier and a bit grouchy in the mornings, whereas I used to be up and ready to go at any time. I’ve also been asking him to help more with our cats in the morning, as they can be quite distracting when I’m trying to focus.
Although my son is an adult, he’s only had a couple exposures to small amounts of caffeine in his life, so he’s relatively unfamiliar with it. He thinks it’s out of my system now and that I should be back to normal, but I believe it takes much longer to fully adjust after 20 years of consumption. I didn’t do extensive research before quitting, but over the past week, I’ve seen many others share their experiences, and it seems that it can take a month or two to truly feel the benefits and regain renewed energy.
Warning, Tips and Suggestions
Time Off or Weekend Detox
If you can, take a full week off work when you quit caffeine. If a full week isn’t possible, consider starting your caffeine detox on a Friday. This way, you can tackle the toughest days over the weekend when you have more flexibility to rest and recover.
If you can take a Friday off, even better—you’ll have a three-day window to start the process, which can make a significant difference. Although the first three days were the worst for me, some people really struggle with the entire first week of their detox.
Replacement Hydration
Sometimes people detox from the coffee, and instantly replace it with a tea or decaf. I personally don’t want to do this just yet. But, I have found some great alternatives to coffee (listed below here) if you’re looking for one. I totally understand that some people want to keep that morning ritual and experience. For me, I am currently just drinking normal water and some ice water with real lemon or dehydrated lemon (True Lemon), made with crystallized lemon, lemon juice and lemon oil.
Cravings and Sugar
Some people find that are they’re detoxing, they may start craving junk food or sugar. I didn’t have this at all, but I’ve heard several stories of this from others. Just be sure to have food and snacks on hand, especially for the first few days because you might not be up to making much yourself. I’d cook a bit in advance or prepare for that in some way, because it can be really tough when you’re dealing with fatigue and a horrible headache. I would also stay away from chocolate as it too contains caffeine.
Gradual Reduction or Cold Turkey
Although I quit cold turkey, you could gradually reduce your caffeine intake in the days and weeks prior to quitting. This can lessen the severity of withdrawal symptoms. One way of doing this is to decrease the number of cups per day over time, or by swapping out some of your coffee for decaf and gradually reducing it that way.
The Best Coffee Alternatives
For some people, the morning just isn’t the same without the ritual of having a hot beverage. I totally understand that. I’ve done a lot of research and received many comments on my videos related to quitting coffee, so I have some product suggestions based off of comments and research. I’d like to try the Teeccino in the future, but for now I am still detoxing.
Organic Rooibis Tea by Cederberg Tea Company (no caffeine)
Teeccino – A Unique Coffee Alternative (no caffeine)
Teeccino products are also highly-rated and well-loved by many people who have quit coffee. The Teeccino products contain a blend of organic herbs like chicory, 
There are no artificial flavors, preservatives, chemicals, or sugar.
The French Roast is one of their top-sellers. There products will likely give you an experience that is most similar to drinking coffee, ideally without any of the negative side effects.
One of the reviewers mentioned, “” The reviews are very positive and it seems to be a nice mix between a coffee and a tea.
Decaf Coffee by San Francisco Bay – Swiss Water Method (0.1% caffeine)
According to the Swiss Water website, where you can get more information on the process, Swiss Water Decaf coffees are “99.9% caffeine free—how much of that 0.1% ends up being consumed can vary.”
This particular product is highly-rated on Amazon, although there are numerous other options.
