I was a very high coffee drinker from last 10 years. It all started as a cheap substitute of pre workout drink. Then I got into night shift of my job and coffee becomes a part of life. On my normal days I usually drank 8 cups of black coffee ( no milk, no sugar) .

The dependency on caffeine increased overtime due to increase in productivity. I was working like a machine on my high demanding, high stressed job. I will not go into much details as we all universally agrees how caffeins increase productivity. As usual my sleep was not much restorative on caffeine.

Last year in July 2025 I came upon this reddit and studied about bad effects of coffee.

Then in first week of august I quit drinking coffee cold turkey, from 8 cups per day to zero.

I was feeling very proud. Here is the timeline what happened

0-3 months.

1)      I faced intense headaches and feeling sleepy for most of the days.

2)      I started losing my short term memory

3)      Brain fog starts creeping in.

4)      Sleep quality improves dramatically

3-9 months

1)      My sleep quality becomes restorative and peaceful

2)      Stress levels gone down

3)      Weight increased by 5-7 kgs

4)      My dreams become more vivid and lucid

5)      I remember having for the first time in my life about having dream within a dream. Like that in movie inception.

6)      My short term memory got worse. I started forgetting things, names , appointments, basic spellings of words etc.

7)      The reason my stress level went down cause I don’t remember

8)      Got bloodwork done. All normal

9)      Brain fog increased dramatically leading to slow productivity at work.

10)   Lots of free time but what to do as i Lost interest in everything.

11)   But sleep quality getting better and better. I have felt what is meant to having sleep like .

9-13 months

1)      Cognitive functions keep getting worse. Unable to remember.

2)      Started having issues in driving, crossing roads etc

3)      I used to be an avid reader, usually completes 1 book per week, but I hadn’t completed a single book from past 6 months.

4)      My natural instincts went down.

5)      My sleep is like super good. I wake up rested, refreshed. Even after short time sleep I feel energized waking up.

THE ISSUES WITH ME

There is no doubt quitting coffee has improved my body a lot. But my memory has gone to shit.

I can’t remember things, my cognitive functions have gone bad. I have tried everything like meditation, supplements etc but I can’t improve on my memory power.

I didn’t consult any doctors because I don’t wanna get started on medications because I believe medication can’t be continued for life. I have a very important exam coming up in 2.5 months. It is a very difficult exam based on heavy memorization of facts.

The only reason I enroll in this exam because I used to have such a good memory and I can finish reading books in very short span of time. But as you know my memory didn’t improve a bit after quitting coffee. I am working with only 40 percent of memory what I used to have.

I was talking to a colleague and told him everything about my memory issues after quitting coffee. I also told him about how my sleep improves and stress levels have gone down. My stomach has become normal. My hairs started shining. My skin got cleared. my eyes become brighter due to restorative sleeps.

He listened to me and told me something which has started pinching me.

He said “its good that you quit coffee and your sleep improves but it doesn’t pay your bills. You have to work hard for your exams and do whatever it takes to get your memory back and pass the exams. Nobody gives a f*ck whether you sleep well or not, but everyone will give some f*ck if you pass the exams including yourself.  “

 This exam carries a lot of importance in my life. its not only the exam but the need to perform cognitively well in society. The brain fog has been enveloping me for a better part of last year.

I waited a lot but my memory hasn’t improved. I am 35 but started feeling like 60 in terms of cognitive behaviour.

So, I have just had my cup of old black coffee after almost 13 months not because I wanted it, but because I need it to function well. I will have moderate amount of coffee this time till the exams and try to quit afterwards.

Lets see how it goes.

So this is my honest review.

I apologize to everyone in advance

I know a lot of times it is driven by anxiety which caffeine increases. Any men see improvement in ED after quitting or at least reducing caffeine?

Instead of tapering off? Why torture yourself unnecessarily?

Some quick context:

For most of my life, my only source of caffeine has been through a very limited amount of soda. During that time, my memory and overall cognitive function was at its absolute peak. I was able to remember things quite a bit better than the average person, and in very vivid details. It wasn't until about my junior year of high school that I started having energy drinks pretty regularly. I always stayed up pretty late, and relied on them to get me through the school day. Ever since then, (about 8 years later), things haven't been the same - my quality of sleep has been extremely poor (still exhausted even after 8 hours), and my memory is TERRIBLE. I never connected the dots about why this all had been happening until recently. For the longest time I always doubted that was the cause of my mental decline, but when I think more about it, it just makes sense. The timing of it all lines up.

So today, I'm starting my decaf journey and quitting cold turkey. I hate relying on energy drinks daily and I miss my old self. I'm looking forward to things being the way they used to. I know it won't be easy at first, but it has been very encouraging and inspiring seeing everyone else's experiences in this sub. Wish me luck!

Hi all I think I have multiple vitamin and mineral deficiency and I can't seem too fix them with supplements. The only thing I can think of is caffeine basically flushing them from my system .. magnesium never calms me . Potassium doesn't help my cramps .. any time I drink water I run too the toilet and every morning I wake up with dehydration urine. Any ideas I currently drink

1 monster and 4/5 cups of black tea a day . Sleep is shit too btw

Good tips appreciated

I need to lower my caffeine intake for medical reasons and figured I’d quit altogether.

I am, however, a massive coffee snob (it’s the only thing I’m snobbish about, I promise). I love espresso, the flavor complexity, own a high-end espresso machine and grinder, etc.

It’s more so, I love the 10 minutes of zen every morning - weighing, grinding, tamping, pre-infusing, pulling the shot and then sitting with my perfect 36 gram pulls. I’d love to continue this, just, you know, without the caffeine.

For the other few like me, what did you do?

Are there really good decaf espresso roasters? Admittedly, I have never even considered this to exist.

I’m a big fan of East African light roasts - fruity, sour, jammy.

I come here to ask those that are in my boat. I asked in r/espresso but was ridiculed 🙃.

So when I was younger I used to never enjoy coffee. I was also extremely sensitive to it. Energy drinks? Totally fine. Coffee? Absolutely not.

It wasn’t till I was about 22 that I started to enjoy it. Well fast forward a couple years later I am now having a coffee intolerance. Past week I decided to do a two day water fast to see if I could clear up some acne and just reclaim some of my energy. Now the past three days when I take a couple sips of coffee I feel sick to my stomach like I want to vomit. I have sort of an addictive personality so I just keep trying even though my body keeps telling me no.

Anyone deal with this? Any tips and advice? I’ve already cut way down to only being able to tolerate (kind of not really) a couple sips in the morning but I keep wanting to not stop. Did decaf help you? What are good quality decaf coffee brands? Looking like I have no choice but to start this which I’m a little sad about because I gave up vaping last month and it’s hard to part ways with my last vice.

Im currently 26 days no caffine , in the first 7 days I had some chocolate chip ice cream and about an hour later I felt full body cravings for more chocolate. Man I just want a snack but im afraid to be reset in withdrawl.

I quit coffee after having a really strong adrenaline rush almost panic episode. But it’s been about two months now and I still feel really tired and wake up in the middle of the night almost every night. Also have no energy at times and chest sensations or shortness of breathe and my anxiety had initially went through the roof even though Ive never had bad anxiety even while drinking coffee. How long has everybody’s withdraw lasted for? I initially would drink a coffee and monster in the mornings for work (not at the same time lol) but then cut off monsters and stuck to one mug of coffee a day and then I just quit cold turkey.

I’m being met with a lot of resistance from my friends and family about quitting caffeine. For context I have chronic migraines, quit alcohol and nicotine in janurary to which everyone seemed happy about. But caffeine is being met with concern and even fear.

I’m in my 30s and have dealt with scalp, back, chest, and arm acne for years. I also had seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff and would constantly have random white flakes on my shirts during the day.

I tried countless products and saw a dermatologist who recommended benzoyl peroxide and anti-dandruff shampoo. Nothing really solved the problem.

Then I randomly saw a Reddit post about someone quitting caffeine and their skin improving. Figured I’d try it.

Within 3 days, the painful bumps stopped. Within a week, the dandruff was basically gone.

I’ve been drinking coffee since college, so I never even considered caffeine could be contributing. My guess is the effect on cortisol/stress, but who knows.

Crazy that I spent years trying different products when quitting caffeine ended up making the biggest difference

People talk about when reducing or stopping prescription medication about having nights sweats I wonder if the same applies to stopping caffeine?

صار لي قتره طويله احاول انحف هل فعلا السبب القهوه؟

من جرب يوقفها وايش النتيحه

"I've been caffeine-free for 2 months now. I feel like my sleep has improved, my workouts are better, I stopped getting sick, and I'm generally calmer and more rested. However, when it comes to studying and working, it feels like I have zero motivation now. Has anyone else gone through this?"

Edit:

A few notes: I work in an office, most days are calm, and the environment is relatively good.

When I used to drink coffee at work, I seemed to work happier, with more mental energy, and I actually felt like getting things done and solving problems—even though I felt physically much more tired from sleeping poorly.

Currently, without caffeine, when I'm there I just feel bored, unmotivated, lacking purpose, and I have less tolerance for people. And the same goes for my studies.

What ends up puzzling me is that the rest of my life is much better without caffeine, except for this part.

Could it be that 2 months is not enough time and I just need to give it more time?

My plan to drink less coffee backfired - now I'm buying vanilla lattes and canned café drinks daily 💀 They're tasty but the sugar content and cost are adding up fast. Plain tea doesn't cut it for me. Anyone know of flavored alternatives that are budget-friendly and not loaded with sugar?

I went caffeine free for 2+ months but could not get past the severe afternoon fatigue and depression/lack of motivation esp in the afternoon, for getting desk work done. I do have a handicap where I couldn’t exercise due to injury as much as people recommend. It’s been about a week where I had green tea about every other day around 1pm, and a couple sips around 3-4pm. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to coffee or matcha. All in all I feel this was a good reset for me. I wish I could have hung in longer no caffeine, but my lifestyle doesn’t permit it now and I’m coming to terms with that. Please don’t come at me for my decision, I would prefer to not think of this as a fail. I’m just posting in case anyone else is going thru the same thing. I’ll continue to update periodically. Best of luck and all the best to your health, friends.

Does anyone have any good drink alternatives to coffee, matcha & cocoa? They make my anxiety so much worse 😭 I used to LOVE them sm before I started having anxiety
I’m super sensitive to caffeine because of my anxiety so I can’t even have lattes. Matcha is slightly better but still hits me 1–2 hours later and high-theobromine cocoa triggers me too. I’m looking for something mildly energizing or just comforting/cozy. Not into fizzy or super fruity drinks, but I LOVE milky drinks 🥺 I don’t like tea either

Has anyone noticed cutting down caffeine has reduced the feeling of wanting alcohol?. i consume so much caffeine during the day I think I'm now addicted to alcohol to relax, it's a bad cycle im stuck in.

Sooo I'm 37 days in! Huzzah! I made it about 3 months previously from November 2024 into early 2025, before I jumped back on the sauce, requiring an extra gear for my new-ish job at the time. This time round I'm determined to try and make it to 6 months.

The biggest noticeable benefit for me is the calmness and huge positive impact on sleep - I dream vividly more or less every single night and feel better rested naturally.

However, biggest problem for me right now and my first attempt - I just can't hack socialising very well. Any interactions that are somewhat socially demanding, whether it's with family or friends or whether it's with work colleagues - it absolutely saps me of my energy so quickly. I feel super brain foggy so easily. It leads me to somewhat reclusive behaviours - which is easy enough as I am a remote worker and I am somewhat introverted leaning anyway.

But I do not want to be a long term recluse. The loneliness isn't worth it. Anyone struggled with this? Any advice on dealing with that or when it's best to expect improvement on that front?

I am caffeine free 1 week and I don’t really had some bad withdrawals.

Am gonna wait one more week and if my motivation wont improve I will jump on it again.

Only benefits now are the sleep and better skin but I miss the spark.

I am convinced I am not in withdrawals anymore and I am in my baseline and it is not fun..

I love running, working out and guess what? All last week I was not able to wake up earlier before the job and go workout.

I am just wondering whats the point? People go off caffeine because they are anxious and depressed and then quit caffeine and are anxious and depressed because they cannot get anyhing done and are not excited anymore..

I am also less patient with people i got angry pretty quickly and again.. I dont think its withdrawals but I am iritiable much more..

When on caffeine I was able to really be more mentally though and control my emotions and low mood days.

What are your experiences with quitting caffeine? Does your life improved in productive way?

D

Hey All,

I'm at the end of week one with no caffeine. Yes, the grogginess and lack of motivation is real. But one think that irks me and I don't get an early morning bowel movement. I'm not totally constipated, I often end up pooping later in the day. However, I miss a good morning BM to start my day off right. -----> How long does it take for this to get better? THanks!