First off, let’s just say we don’t hate coffee. Hate is a strong word. We’re just not satisfied. The most popular drink in the world has a tight grip on majority of the global population. Each morning the masses drag themselves out of bed, stuck in this half-asleep half-awake dream state until they get their fix. Masked beneath a seemingly innocent latte, green tea or energy drink, the average person might not be aware of just what it does to your body. It’s widely accepted that small amounts can have therapeutic benefits. Caffeine does come from plants after all, but it’s not gentle or adaptogenic enough to have everyday. As a result some people experience unwanted side effects like poor sleep, heightened anxiety, irritability, high blood pressure and sugar cravings just to name a few.
Keen to kick the caffeine for good or at least give it up for lent? Here’s what happens to your body when you stop drinking caffeine.
You’ll sleep better; Caffeine blocks adenosine, a substance in your body that promotes sleepiness. Once ingested, caffeine begins to take affect very quickly. It reaches peak level in your blood within 30-60 minutes. After a few hours, your body will start to eliminate some of the caffeine, bringing on that all familiar caffeine crash. Meanwhile the remaining caffeine stays in your system for up to 24 hours. Have a cup of coffee at eight a.m. and you’ll still have 25% off the caffeine in your body at either p.m. The kicker is that if you’re a daily caffeine drinker, you might not feel it’s effects as strongly but inside caffeine is still wreaking havoc on your adrenals. It disrupts the quality of your sleep by reducing REM sleep, vital to recharge the brain and process emotions. You wake up the next morning with an emotional handicap, habitually reach for your coffee and the cycle continues.
You’ll feel less anxious; Caffeine, being a stimulant, provides an immediate boost of adrenaline and dopamine, essentially stimulating the fight or flight response. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that large doses of caffeine raise blood pressure, stimulate the heart and product rapid shallow breathing which deprives the brain of the oxygen needed to keep your thinking calm and a rational. As a result caffeine can worsen anxiety in some people and can even trigger anxiety attacks. When you stop drinking caffeine initially you may experience some withdrawal symptoms, for some the anxiety may even worsen for a couple of days. But hang in there, once your hormones come back into balance you’ll be feeling like your normal self again.
It’s widely known that caffeine is highly addictive. Many people find themselves going back to it time and time again, despite their best efforts to cut down. That’s why finding a replacement will increase your chances of success tenfold, and it’ll be a hell of a lot easier than going cold turkey. Besides, we figure if you’re going to drink something everyday then it should be something that actually benefits your life. Medicinal mushrooms like Chaga, Cordyceps and Lions mane produce a similar energising and clarifying effect to caffeine, but with none of the caffeine. Cultures around the world have been drinking Chaga as a coffee alternative for hundreds of years, and we kid you not it really does taste very similar to coffee. Aside from being one of the most powerful antioxidant-rich immune boosters known to mankind, it’s just one of the many reasons we had to include it in our Mind+Body Fuel. So try swapping out your double shot capp for an adaptogenic mushroom latte and start enjoying the many benefits of medicinal mushrooms spanning mind, body & soul.
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