Wednesday 7 October 2009

Caffeine-free for more energy, a clear head and better sleep

Giving up caffeine is proving more difficult than I thought. After a confession that I broke my 100-day challenge after 35 days, it’s happened again. Away from the world and with only the weather to worry me, peppermint tea wasn’t enough, so green tea filled the void (and flask). And how good it tasted! A rather long drive back also benefited from a little chemical help, and the joys of Red Bull were discovered. For anyone who is interested – that stuff really does work!

I must admit that after one embarrassing fall from grace I was all for quietly going back to my caffeine habit without another word. Except that, all the reasons I originally wanted to give it up are still there:

  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Headaches
  • Difficulty concentrating after too many cuppas
After having got caffeine out of my system, my body isn’t too thrilled at it being back, with headaches being the most noticeable symptom. So I’m having another go.

Much has been written on how long it takes to form a habit, but most advice underestimates the length of time needed. Dr Maxwell Maltz published a book in 1960 where he observed that amputees took, on average, 21 days to adjust to the loss of their limb. From this he deduced that people could adjust to major life changes within the same time. Later research has found that much smaller changes, such as eating fruit or walking every day, take 66 days or longer for the habit to stick. With or without all your limbs.

As for the caffeine, the energy-filled Chris Fenn has reported that oil workers on offshore oil rigs benefited from better moods, higher energy levels, improved sleep and fewer headaches as a result of giving up caffeine.

So it’s in open and shut case: to the great dismay of everyone who has to work with me, I’m back on my caffeine-free challenge. And I promise not to utter another word about it until I have successfully completed 100 days!

15 comments:

  1. Landscape , Outdoor, Landscape Lighting Installation, Lawn Sprinkler Design, Repairs, Installation, Lawn Irrigation Service, Sprinkler System Backflow Testing at Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Dix Hills NY, Huntington NY, Syosset NY, Smithtown NY and Happauge NY

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diskdatadestruction.net offers Mobile paper shredding, Mobile hard drive destruction at Hauppauge NY, Suffolk County NY, Long Island NY, Ronkonkoma NY, Melville NY, Huntington NY, Garden City NY, Farmingdale NY, Westbury NY, Bohemia NY, Stony Brook NY, Nassau County NY

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nyallpurposepaving.com offers Paving Contractor, Parking Lot Repairs, sealing, striping, Oil and Stone Driveways at Riverhead NY, Quogue NY, Hamptons NY, Southampton NY, Sag Harbor NY, Green point NY, Wading River NY, East Moriches NY, Center Moriches NY, Mannorville NY, Miller Place NY , Mt. Sinai NY,Greenport NY

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jettonsgrading.com offers Grading, Excavation and Paving Contractor, Land Clearing Services, Septic Systems, Retaining Walls and Driveways, Drainage Systems, Construction Site Clean-Up, Demolition Contractor at Walhalla SC, Seneca SC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Atopcommercialpaving.com offers Commercial Paving, Asphalt Contractor, and Parking Lot Resurfacing at Queens NY, Nassau County, Bayside NY, Jamaica NY, Middle Village NY, Ozone Park NY, Howard Beach NY, Little Neck NY

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bedbugprocpc.com offers Bed Bug Exterminator, Bed Bug Inspections, Bed Bug Elimination, Bed Bug Inspection for Hotels and Residential and Commercial Bed Bug at Palo Alto CA, San Mateo CA, San Jose CA, Belmont CA, San francisco CA, Redwood City CA, Sunnyvale CA

    ReplyDelete
  7. Davispestmanagement.com offers Pest Control, Exterminator, Bed Bug Removal, Inspections, Rodent, Pest Elimination, Commercial, Residential, Professional, Licensed Exterminator , Scorpion, Bee Hive, Hornet, Fire Ant Removal by Service Area, Las Vegas NV

    ReplyDelete
  8. reliablecommercialpaving.com offers Parking lot paving, walk way construction, Commercial paving, asphalt, Parking Lot Repairs, Parking Lot Striping, Commercial Blacktop, Parking Lot Repairs, Commercial Paving Contractor, Commercial Asphalt Contractor at New Jersey at Hanover NJ, East Orange NJ, Newark NJ, Morristown NJ, Summit NJ , Union NJ, Hackensack NJ, Patterson NJ

    ReplyDelete
  9. Complete-pest-control.com offers Pest Control, Exterminator, Rodent Control, Rodent Elimination, and Pest Elimination at Palo Alto CA, San Mateo CA, San Francisco CA, Redwood City CA, Sunnyvale CA, and Belmont CA

    ReplyDelete
  10. Divorce Attorney, Female Divorce Attorneys and Long Island Divorce Attorneys, Long Island Female Divorce Attorneys

    ReplyDelete
  11. Realestatebydavidschoelles.com offers David Schoelles Real Estate, Cash for Homes at Arizona, Scottsdale AZ, and Phoenix AZ

    ReplyDelete
  12. Carpet, upholstery cleaning, carpet stain, odor removal, carpet steam, ceramic tile, commercial carpet cleaning at mobile al

    ReplyDelete
  13. Realestatebydavidschoelles.com offers David Schoelles Real Estate, Cash for Homes at Arizona, Scottsdale AZ, and Phoenix AZ

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kitchen cabinets and Kitchen cabinet supplier, remodeling, countertops, New Kitchen Cabinets, Wood Kitchen Cabinets

    ReplyDelete
  15. David Schoeless Plumbing, David Schoeless at AZ, Scottsdale AZ, Phoenix AZ

    ReplyDelete