First off, let me make a confession: I consume enough coffee in a day to make it an addiction. Depending on my schedule, I can have between one and three cups of coffee a day. I can only drink Starbucks beverages, so you can imagine my monthly expenses for coffee alone. So, I decided to see if I could go one week without coffee.
Source: giphy
Day One It was absolutely awful. My head was pounding, and I spent my first day of spring break in bed wondering why the Advil didn’t kick in. I was cranky, got sleepy midday, and took a nap. It only made me more irritable.
Day Two I woke up at 4 AM, so I was a little more exhausted than usual. I automatically got into my car and drove to Starbucks at 6AM, and barely remembered I wasn’t supposed to have coffee until I was one person away from ordering. Annoyed that I remembered, I ordered green tea and a cake pop to try and cheer myself up. I still had a headache throughout the day, and I was already missing the taste of coffee.
Day Three I had plans to go to NYC with my friends. I got up early, made myself caffeinated tea, and got ready. I felt surprisingly energized throughout my morning instead of my sluggish routine. I was exhausted around 2pm, and felt my headache coming back. My strength was really tested when my friends stopped in Starbucks before we continued shopping. I got home late and drained, so I went straight to bed at seven.
Day Four I was still a little exhausted from yesterday, so I slept in a little and woke up with a little less of a headache. I worked out and made a strawberry smoothie. I realized around 3pm that my headache was almost nonexistent. I did some homework and went to bed at ten.
Day Five I woke up early to work out. I began wondering if working out helps combat my coffee addiction because I was starting to feel normal again. I didn’t even feel that exhausted in the middle of the day, aside from the slump after a big meal. I did get groceries for my apartment and was very excited when I saw that they sell ready iced Caramel Macchiatos. I made a mental note to go pick that up after this week was over.
Day Six I basically stopped having any headaches without coffee at this point. My hypothesis was that my headache was just a craving for caffeine. I decided to go without the caffeinated tea and made some plain peppermint tea instead. I was shocked when I realized that there was still no headache throughout the day. I worked out at night, watched Netflix, and went to bed.
Day Seven I was a little too excited for this to end. I missed the smell of coffee, and even just the impulsive drives to Starbucks. I drove to Starbucks, got a cake pop, and just sat doing homework and smelling the coffee brew. Do I have a problem? Yes. Definitely.
This was probably the hardest test I had to do. I realized at this point I drink up to three cups of coffee a day just because I want to, not because I actually have to. I also loved substituting coffee with tea throughout the day. Will I stop drinking coffee? Absolutely not. But I definitely want to stop purchasing more than one cup a day and will start substituting coffee with tea or fruit smoothies when I don’t have a stressful week or a lot of exams.