Has anyone gone from moderate caffeine intake to caffeine free? What were the benefits for you?

[HotChocCreamAndMarshmallows]

I drink a tea first thing, then two insane coffees in the morning and a finaL tea mid afternoon.

I always get to fine but then sleep is really disrupted from in the early hours until morning and it is killing me.

I take magnesium and am on a high dose of HRT, so I don't have those tools left to try.

caffeine reduction is one that I know I need to (very reluctantly) try.

has anyone done this and had real benefits (sleep or other!). Thanks!

What are insane coffees?

Instant coffees?

I'm about to try and reduce mine right down, I sleep ok but it seems to affect my blood pressure which is borderline high. Have you tried decaff coffee?

I'm not zero caffeine as there's still some in chocolate etc, and I have the odd tea, but I'm pretty much zero caffeine most days. Massive difference to my sleep quality.

My advice is to dial it back slowly, from the last tea then at least one of the big coffees. So last tea becomes decaf, then one of the big coffees gets swapped for regular tea etc.

I've got to warn you that it's hard to have any sort of caffeine when you cut back that far. I can't drink regular coffee now as it gives me the jitters. But cutting out everything after 10am isn't a bad rule to follow.

I slowly mixed my regular coffee with decaf to wean myself off caffeine without the migraines you get from sudden withdrawal. So far so good.

I feel better in the mornings, so although I’m not aware if my sleep being better I think it must be!

Bathroom visits are less frequent. I don’t need to factor in toilet breaks to every single activity or drive any more. Which is genuinely a massive improvement!

I’ve cut out caffeine for long periods of time and seen absolutely no benefit. I know drink tea/coffee again not least because of the emerging evidence that caffeine may reduce the risk of developing dementia

Ha ha yes - instant.

maybe insane in the issue 🤣

I cut it out when pregnant and breastfeeding. It was shit. Much prefer my caffeine! Although I do stop by 12 unless I'm having a very long demanding work day.

Great advice re cutting back gradually rather than going cold turkey, thanks. I’m not worried about it being zero caffeine, just thinking decaf versus regular and still having some chocolate etc (could t give that up!!)

Insane coffee has really made me laugh, thanks OP. 😂 I'm going to start calling my super strong machine coffees this!

I went caffeine free after cardiac issues (likely not caused by caffeine but I cut it out just in case). Don’t feel any different whatsoever.

Yes I went caffeine free for around 18 months and I did sleep better but I went back to having morning coffees because tbh I missed it and it did impact my day!

i definitely feel a benefit from drinking coffee (I have filter coffee) - I do try not to drink past 2 but if I have one then it doesn’t impact my sleep. Some days I won’t drink any coffee though

so Whilst my sleep was fine going caffeine free it didn’t improve enough to outweigh the coffee

Same here

I am caffeine free and still don’t sleep well. I also take magnesium and am on HRT. Doubling up the magnesium helps but caffeine seems to make no difference

I stopped all caffeine for a while in the hope of easing peri menopause symptoms but did not find it helped. In fact I find one nice cup of coffee in the morning helps get me motivated in the morning. Then I have a cup or two of tea not later than 2pm.

I still feel shit in the mornings.

Oh, fewer bathroom breaks would be amazing. I do feel like my bladder is quite ‘irritable’!

Also interesting a few of you have said it doesn’t help. To be honest, I will try it but hoping it doesn’t make any difference in some ways as caffeine is definitely something I enjoy!

I went from 5 cups of instant a day to 3 x decaf made with decent ground coffee.

I moved from one to the other on a Friday night, and spent the whole weekend in bed with the worst headache I've ever know,

The results longer term were much reduced blood pressure, a lower resting heart rate and much better sleep. Plus it tastes better. 😊

I switched to decaf tea and don’t miss caffeine. On the rare occasion I have a normal tea or Diet Coke, my heart rate speeds up and I feel jittery.

Could you have the tea as decaf? I'm not sure it makes it any worse/different. I tend to have a decaf coffee as well but I maybe add a tiny bit of caffeine to it.

Esp a decaf tea in the afternoon.

The advantages I had - the reason I do it - is I tend to get a bit of tinnitus that comes alive as night falls and I'm getting into bed, the caffeine exacerbates it.

I gave it up for a few months when I had a temporary medical issue. Made no difference to me and I really missed the rituals (nice cup of tea in bed or after being out on a cold day, coffee break in the afternoon - herbal just wasn't the same).

If you drink instant anyway, decaf really doesn’t taste any different. M&S own decaf is really nice and not that expensive.

I had to switch to decaf recently. Since perimenopause. If I have any caffeine even early it affected my sleep . It also means I wee less !!! Do miss a caffeine coffee first thing though

I went cold turkey from around 10 large cups of tea per day. Doctor recommended it as experiencing bladder issues.

Genuine withdrawal and worst 5 days of my life.

Now, drink a lot less cups of decaf tea, mostly tetley but some rooiboos and fruit tea.

Have full time bladder control again 🤦‍♀️, sleep is better (although HRT and magnesium as well), and a regular small cup of tea makes me wired!

I used to drink 3-4 coffees in the morning, then a couple of teas in the afternoon. Went cold turkey - decaf tea and coffee. Two weeks were awful withdrawal but then I started to feel the benefits. For me it was reduced anxiety.

I can't drink caffeinated coffee now, it has me jittery and shaky for about 8 hours! Regular tea doesn't have the same impact, but it was just easier to switch both.

I drink decaf tea and Diet Coke when pregnant or breastfeeding. I don’t find it makes any difference and I don’t notice if I have a non-decaf version out at a cafe or restaurant.