Ask HN: stopping caffeine

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1850753

by swah • 16 years ago

3 10 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

So, I stopped drinking coffee for two days and I'm sleeping 10 hours per night. I used to wake up naturally after about 7 hours of sleep. Anyone else had this when they stopped? (I used to drink more than 1L per day)

Mz2• 16 years ago

This may be a short-term thing. When your body recovers, you will likely go back to sleeping more normal amounts. (I haven't quit caffeine per se but have gotten off a long list of medications.)

eof• 16 years ago

You should be getting back to normal soon. That's a lot of coffee, are you not experiencing heavy withdrawal?

I would definitely have a headache after stopping that much caffeine.

pbhjpbhj• 16 years ago

What are you replacing the drink with. Just because you're not drinking coffee don't forget you still need to take in fluids.

For me, when I've quit in the past, I tried variously ginger squash, herbal teas and just water (hot or cold).

I tend to drink more caffeine drinks when I'm bored as a break from work and because they are available.

Mz2• 16 years ago

Like alcohol, caffeine is dehydrating. So you may need less to drink if you give it up.

(My ex was career military. When he was a trainer at NTC, the part-timers would show up and drink soda all day and alcohol at night, which didn't help their bodies adjust to/cope with being 3000 feet above see level in a hot, dry climate. Lots of folks ended up in the ER for dehydration and heat exhaustion.)

swah3• 16 years ago

Yeah, I'm drinking some tea, I know that has caffeine too, but tea doesn't make me feel like "Ohhh I need some more of this!" like coffee.

grillmaster• 16 years ago

Why stop? well I've went cold turkey when i was in my teens at the time my daily consumption is a bit less than a litter. Didn't remember remember sleeping much more than usual but i when decide to start again coffee repels me though not for long.

swah3• 16 years ago

I'm just trying to find out if it coffee makes me more anxious, but right now I'm just sleepier.

rick888• 16 years ago

"I'm just trying to find out if it coffee makes me more anxious, but right now I'm just sleepier."

I quit caffeine a year ago and I went through the same symptoms. I slept for 10 hours a night for 3 or 4 days and then my sleep cycle went back to normal.

After quitting, I realized that it amplified my anxiety levels in many social situations. It also put me in sort of a strange state-of-mind where my emotions seemed dull (I'm comparing now to then). In a way, it made me more of a compliant person.

I also can remember my dreams almost 3 or 4 times a week when I'm using not caffeine. I still drink it once in a long while, but it doesn't really start up the cycle anymore (I don't keep drinking coffee or pop on a regular basis).

phamilton• 16 years ago

You may need to reset your sleep cycle somehow.

http://projectb14ck.org/how-to-reset-your-sleep-schedule-ser...

This was posted a while back. I found it a very interesting approach.

Good luck.

Ask HN: stopping caffeine

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