Surviving Coffee Addiction Withdrawal

Coffee is harmless, right? After all, it's just a tasty beverage. What harm could it do? A lot, it turns out. Coffee addiction can hurt you in more ways than one. And the withdrawal symptoms can be hard to handle.

If you drink coffee on a regular basis, most likely you are already addicted. Caffeine is a drug and your body will adjust to it. The more you drink, the more you need to keep going. The "pick me up" rush comes from your nervous system kicking into overdrive. Adrenaline floods your system and produces stress hormones. Stress is bad.

The flood in adrenaline is part of the human "fight or flight" response. Your muscle tension rises and your pulse and breathing get faster. To you it is a harmless cup of coffee, but your addicted body doesn't know that. It is ready for action.

Coffee addiction can cause loss of sleep, depression, chronic headaches, increased blood pressure and blood sugar, and more. Over time, these side effects can wear you down. Also, the boost in alertness is followed by a fall in serotonin, the hormone that makes you happy and calm. In the short term you feel less sleepy, but in the long term you end up sad and drained of energy.

You can overcome an addiction to coffee, but withdrawal can be tough. Symptoms of coffee addiction withdrawal include headaches and increased sleepiness. This can be hard to take, since most people drink coffee to help them wake up.

To beat coffee addiction withdrawal, reduce your intake slowly. Then replace your morning java with tea, which has less caffeine. Also increase the amount of water you drink. By keeping hydrated you will lower any feelings of fatigue and help flush out toxins.

If you need a cup at night, don't sacrifice sleep. Try a cup of mint or "sleepy time" chamomile tea instead of coffee. As with your first cup of Joe, you may need to adjust to the taste.

If you still crave a morning boost, try ginseng. Balance it with some slow-burning carbohydrates like oatmeal so you'll have energy all day long. You will find the withdrawal much easier to handle if you can stay awake and alert.