Write-up moved from node - "Coming off caffeine"
Why come off
caffeine? Two reasons. Firstly - caffeine is an
addictive drug. And addictive drugs are
bad, y'know? Do you really want your mind enslaved to a chemical? To know that all that separates you from shaking mindless incapacity is your
morning fix?
Secondly, caffeine is an addictive drug. And you get
tolerant. One study had people becoming pretty much
immune to the effects of 400mg a day (that's about 4 cups of
coffee) within a week. So if you want your morning coffee to actually have an effect, or if you want to be able to use the drug as a fall-back
stimulant for some future suddenly looming
deadline, you'll want to free yourself of it temporarily.
Well, easier said than done. There are
withdrawal symptoms. In particular, there are the
headaches, there's the
drowsiness, there's the muffled quality to all your
senses, and there's the substantial thickening of that
aura of crapness that crowds your
mind. Not nice. Effects peak after a couple of days without the drug, and can last for well over a week. So here's some advice - don't try
cold turkey. Come off it fast, but not completely immediately. You only need a tiny proportion of your normal dose to keep those nastinesses at bay. If you normally have 300mg (that's about three cups of coffee, or six of tea) you'll only need 25mg to keep you feeling OKish. So start with that - that's a quarter of a cup of coffee a day - and come down gently to nothing within a few days. Yes, this does mean you'll soon be picking grains of coffee out practically
individually ("one pinch or two?") and pouring
teaspoonfuls of water into your cup - but at least such measures remind you that this
is a drug you're dealing with, hence redoubling your
resolve to get off it.
Well, good luck!
Source for factual information -
New Scientist