Momentum Issue 24: Take a break from caffeine
It’s so important that we regularly take breaks from caffeine.
While caffeine (and the vessels it comes in - coffee and tea) is a highly beneficial substance, we need to avoid it on a regular basis.
This week, try to avoid all sources of caffeine.
Importance
To understand why we need to take a regular break from caffeine, we must first understand how caffeine affects the brain.
Caffeine mimics adenosine, the neurotransmitter in the brain that makes us feel tired. Caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors, therefore blocking the adenosine from binding to the receptors, which is how caffeine works to make us feel awake.
However, continued caffeine use causes our brain to create more of these receptors, which is why it takes more and more caffeine to achieve the same buzz.
This also means that when we don’t have caffeine, or when the caffeine runs its course, there are a lot of receptors for the fatigue-inducing adenosine to bind to and we experience a huge crash in energy.
Fortunately, taking a regular 7-10 day break allows the adenosine receptors to reset, and return to their normal numbers. All you need is one week off.
Implementation
Find yourself a good quality decaf coffee and/or tea, and use this instead of your usual brew.
Identify other food and drinks you regularly have that contain caffeine. For example black, white, and green teas, chocolate (especially dark), and soft drinks.
Eliminate all caffeine from your diet for at least 7 days.
Note: You may need to wean yourself off the caffeine. Generally, I experience headaches for 1-2 days, but you can mitigate this by slowing easing off. Switch to cups of black tea instead of coffee, or find a half-caf blend.
Before you go
If you haven’t already, check out the Momentum Habits Instagram and Facebook pages. I try to keep these updated regularly with information on habits, routines, and just generally how to live a good life.
Also, if you haven’t yet filled out the survey from last week, you can do so here:
I created this survey to get to know you better to ensure I can keep providing value where it is needed most.