3 BIG 'Benefits' of Caffeine + 3 BIGGER Benefits of No Caffeine

Caffeine is a game-changer. It can ruin, I mean, rule your life! Here are 3 big "benefits" of caffeine and 3 even bigger benefits of being caffeine-free and what my personal experience has been.

00:00 - Start
00:27 - Anxiety
01:19 - Impulsivity
01:50 - Distractibility
02:11 - The Caffeine Conspiracy
03:16 - 3 Bigger Benefits of Caffeine
03:19 - Control
04:37 - Calm
05:21 - But keep in mind...
06:10 - Capability
08:17 - How Much Caffeine Do You Drink?
08:46 - Reduce information overwhelm

🏷 TAGS: #caffeine #coffee #burnout #productivity #LinkingYourThinking

[linkingyourthinking]

How much caffeine do you drink on average? Or are you already caffeine free? Or...are you neck deep in caffeine but considering weaning off of it?

[linkingyourthinking]

Without caffeine, I thought I might not even have the energy for a good workout...that is, until I went ahead and did the thing I thought I needed the extra energy for: heavy deadlifts.

I did them. I did them well. And doing them without caffeine put the power back—not just in my back, but where it was needed—in my mind.

I broke through the limiting belief that I needed caffeine's help to lift well and lift heavy. It's quite, empowering.

[aelixa]

as i got older, i was getting more and more health issues related to caffeine like headaches, caffeine crash, and anemia (caffeine blocks the absorption of iron).
but here’s the thing, i love the smell of coffee.
even more than its taste.

so i use a coffee-scented candle for “productive mode” times.
it’s a placebo effect, but i get that energized productive feel without coffee’s downsides.

[JayJohnJordan]

After changing to a new job recently, I realized I no longer have to be at 110% all the time either (🙌🙌), and I was feeling far more amped up than necessary. So I've been weaning down to a single half-caf cup a day. I also experienced the sleep disruptions, but now I feel my mind is tuned for the right amount of focus required for my new-normal.

I also am not committing to completely getting off caffeine. 😉

[AmeeliaK]

I'm on week four of an influenca infection that naturally weaned me off of coffee. Now I continue not to drink it just to experiment how it will affect me. I think everybody reacts differently to coffeine. I used to drink one to two big cups a day, only organic coffee filtered by hand. It stimulated me but it also made me happy. It was like sunshine arriving in my brain as soon as I started to drink. So I didn't have the negative effects you described. But I have hope that without coffee I will fall asleep better. And that I can judge better if I'm tired or not. With coffee, sometimes I would work too much just because I could and only feel the heavy fatigue afterwards.

What I'm really missing though is the ritual in the morning, something I love to start the day in a good mood.

[ranks]

Until last Monday I was on a caffeine cleanse for 2 months and I could confirm that caffeine made me feel like I was doing the work, I was wrong. I wake up early in the morning, my sleep has improved...
I started drinking but with a little dose, only one little little spoon mixed in a pool of milk.
It felt like I'd never drank coffee before and I like this feeling, will keep me on my feet not to go overboard this time.

[AJ-hkkv]

I just quit caffeine myself, too. Daily energy drinks and pre workout was common. Had a scary Saturday morning after two 112mg drinks on an empty stomach, something on my phone upset me, then I remember not being able to breathe properly and I couldn’t calm down because it was freaking me out. Had to force lots of water down to dilute my stomach.

Too much anxiety, always tired… it wasn’t a good cycle.

I always had massive headaches in the afternoon when I forgot to have caffeine, so I knew I had to ween off it slow.
Week one was one 112mg drink a day limit (besides pre workout). Week two was the smaller cans at 60mg, and week three was flavored water (no pre workout) and hoping I didn’t have headaches!

With some introspection I think what’s happening is I always wanted something fruit flavored in the morning, and I’ve created this sort of novelty to drinking something like a flavored energy drink first thing in the morning, but I had to realize I was initially craving A flavor. Took a lot of pondering… what did I really want in the morning? Did I really need caffeine to do daily tasks? Does caffeine align with my health goals long term? Can I use it sparingly (only during workouts)?

Right now I only use my pre workout at about 3-4 days (no evening consumption allowed), it’s still a strong dose so I may make changes in the near future and shoot for non-caffeine workouts after all!

[michaelpporter]

I have found I when I cut caffeine to minimum levels I focus better, when I cut it completely I'm more distracted. I attribute it to ADHD, having some calms me. I have also found, too much brings on the anxiety more. Balance is the key for me.

"How does caffeine affect ADHD? The effects of caffeine consumption on ADHD remain largely anecdotal. The stimulant calms some people, while increasing anxiety in others. However, many parents and adults with ADHD, (and some studies) report light to moderate caffeine use as a way to help boost focus and concentration." - ADDitude Mag

[koshabi]

I find I'm quite sensitive to it since i already have anxiety. since i have been drinking more of it recently, my anxiety has been noticeably higher not going to lie. anything more then 100mg of it in a day, shows effects. Probably going to go off it by alot to see if i end up better.

[musikkimies]

Great video. I've never drunk coffee (I had a sip once when I was a kid), and went probably 20 years without any caffeine at all. Even now I try to only drink coffee on road trips when I really need to stay awake.
In my "former life, " I was a Navy submariner where we worked CRAZY hours when were at sea. People lived on coffee. Nowadays the various energy drinks are hyper-prevalent. But I never drank any of that - not any caffeine at all. Was I super tired? Absolutely. But so was everyone else. My reasoning was that if I drink caffeine, I may be more alert now - but it'll mess with my sleep later. Then I'll need more caffeine to function the next day - and on and on. So I never did. And I know that my health and overall wellness benefitted.

[Yuusou.]

Instead of coffee, I drink matcha. It is not creating a huge spike and it lasts longer without getting me anxious. I once took even an energy pill filled with caffeine, guarana and some other stuff. That made me really nervous and anxious.

[hankking]

I have quit caffeine many times over the years, and each time I have, I have seemed to get extremely, like debilitatingly depressed. I quit for a month or two recently, and was having some suicidal thoughts during that time. Eventually, because I was moving, I started drinking caffeine again just to feel okay. It has often felt like I'm a new person when I start drinking it, if in moderation. But over time, I notice the negative effects you are describing. I believe caffeine helps me to access something like a "fight" trauma response. I think I have trauma that I just got used to living with, that has resulted in chronic loneliness. I have learned to cope with meditation, exercise, journaling, etc., but I think there is still this depression about the loneliness that I can barely keep at bay with all my coping strategies in full force. So caffeine can help me to get out of the "freeze" response into more of a flight response. I also believe I have adhd symptoms too, as a result of the depression, resulting from the trauma. I learned this, when I got a brain scan with the Amen Clinics this Spring. I thought I had adhd, but what they said was that it looked more like depression due to trauma resulting in adhd symptoms. Anyways, stimulants seem to help many people with adhd symptoms, something about the dopamine perhaps. I feel it can help with executive functioning at times (in moderation). Ideally, I would like to just drink a cup or two of green tea a day. I'm moving to a place where I will have more community, and hopefully can wean off it again sometime. When I first started drinking green tea in college, just one cup a day, I barely noticed a difference, but looking back it also happened to be one of my best semesters in school. I think green tea is something I can stick with over time and would like to. It seems like it really does have benefits. Only about 30mg caffeine, and the L-theanine is supposed to help with anxiety/reduce it.

[SimonStJohn]

Nick, your videos are so interesting and relaxing....thank you!

[Connygraf]

I was once 6 months caffeine free a few years back, stopping was hard I had terrible headaches for about 2 days. But as far as I remember I didn’t feel much different. After 6 months I started drinking coffee again, I love the smell and taste

[herfuzzyness]

i cut caffeine out 6 years ago and never really went back. back then i didn’t understand how sensitive i am and didn’t realize what a number i was doing on my sleep and my mental health. now if i have a cup of coffee my sleep will be whacked for at least two days, not to mention the other superpowers you mention in your video. but sometimes i have it anyways because damn is it tasty. and the frenetic energy is fun/creatively stimulating in small doses. but i could never drink coffee every day again, i would fkin die

[yonashira]

I love this video
I try to live as caffeine-free as possible, as my body reacts highly sensitive to caffeine
I accept 1 or 2 cups of coffee during the day only under these conditions:
- after nights <50% of the required sleep to perform okish at work
- when I have to drive my car at night after being awake for 15h+
- social events: going to a café (less than once/month)
I guess my average consumption of coffee is like 1 cup per week (or a bit less)
This lifestyle has improved my sleep quality and my well-being a lot, thus I don´t want to go back to having a coffee as a part of my daily routine.

[PerryWagle]

In my youth, I would "detox" from coffee/caffeine something like a month or two every year or so. Seemed to have a good effect, One key thing was to wean off for a few days, or if you could deal with the headaches with aspirin or whatever, cold turkey.

Its been quite some time since I did this "detox". Thanks for reminding me!

[MM-bswb]

I was drinking stupid amounts of coffee. I’d estimate 800mg caffeine per day. I couldn’t sleep and I was miserable. Finally I switched to black tea then matcha, currently 1-2 cups per day. But I’m considering changing to dandelion / rooibos to try being totally caffeine free. Never would have thought it possible before. I’m curious to see what happens. Thanks for the video it was good

[StephenCrewson]

I absolutely love coffee BUT it needs to be an organic coffee otherwise I totally feel off. I find personally a good cup of organic coffee (a little plug here for Mocha Joe's in Brattleboro, VT) allows me to settle down and focus which is the opposite of what you're experiencing. I limit myself to about 3 to 4 cups a week.

Additionally, I've been wearing the Biometrics device Whoop for four years. Here is the impact on me. " Consuming caffeine in moderation can boost my recovery by +5%. Caffeine improves focus, mood, energy levels, and mental/physical performance." I will note again, it has to be organic, not grown with pesticides and other chemicals.

With all that said, my nutritionist indicates that coffee is a de-mineralizer of the eye while Dr. Mark Hyman abstains from it so these thoughts are always in the back of my mind forcing me to evaluate my consumption.

[Stan_sprinkle]

Nice. I just got notified of this video was ready as I’m walking into a coffee shop. I have a feeling I’m going to have to accept these hard truths, but probably not sat far as to throw out the couple thousands of dollars worth of equipment I have acquired for my espresso and latte art obsession.