How to Kick Your Caffeine Addiction

You know if you're addicted to caffeine. If you don't have your fix by noon, the pressure headache begins. You feel sluggish, tired, cranky. Stark, raving, psychotic becomes the most accurate description of your personality when you haven't had your caffeine for the day. Whether it's coffee, tea or soda, you have to get it on a regular basis or the world will regret it.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant; you feel more awake, more alert, ready to conquer the world. But it's a very short high. Within a few hours, you begin to drag and the effects of withdrawal become apparent. If the headaches were the only negative effect of caffeine, it would be fine to keep drinking it, but there are other problems.

Caffeine leeches calcium from your bones. If you are at risk for osteoporosis, this effect is even worse. Excessive use can increase blood pressure, cholesterol (the bad kind) and negatively affect your heart rhythm. It can also cause gastric reflex and increase the acid in your stomach, and can exacerbate fibrocystic breast disease. Caffeine consumption may also affect fertility.

It can be even worse if your daily caffeine kick comes from soda. The sugars and other artificial ingredients in soda can lead to diabetes, weight gain, rotting teeth and other problems.

So, with all these bad things associated with caffeine, it's probably a good idea to quit. But how to do that without suffering miserably from withdrawal? Here are some ideas:

1. Drink a lot of water.

Water will help to quench your thirst, as well as flush toxins (including caffeine) from your system more quickly.

2. Consider a gradual cut back.

Start by just counting how many cups of coffee or bottles of soda you drink each day. Then cut that back by one. Do this for a week, then cut another cup. Continue to do this until you are down to one a day. Then cut to half of one. Do that for about two weeks and then quit altogether.

3. Pick a weekend to quit.

If the gradual cut-back isn't working for you, you need to go cold-turkey. But do this when you've got a few days off. The withdrawal symptoms may include headaches, fatigue, cramping, nausea and even flu-like symptoms. Giving yourself the time to recover from these without having to deal with work stress is a must.

4. Drink a lot of water.

I can't stress this enough. Water helps to quench the thirst, and helps to speed up the detox process.

5. Find an alternative to drink.

Natural fruit juices, herbal teas (caffeine free), decaf coffee. Find something else to drink.

6. Tell people you're quitting.

Let those around you know that you're trying to kick the habit. That way they know why you're cranky, can remind you not to drink that coffee, and can help minimize those things that will make your headache worse.

You can kick the habit, as long as you really want to.