I know that there are quite a number of scientific studies that support drinking coffee, and I for one, have often fallen back on them to justify my daily consumption of that ethereal cup of Joe! Fortunately, a happenstance situation recently caused me to re-evaluate this habitual practice and to consider giving up coffee!
I typically drank one cup a day–a big cup mind you–and this, first thing in the morning, and I guess if I am honest, I have done this most of my adult life. On special occasions though, and if I was dragging my butt mid-afternoon, then I would often have a cappuccino or a latte. We have a wonderful Saeco machine here at home that allowed me this luxury if I felt like indulging.
Lately though, I have toyed with the idea of quitting when observing the throngs of people walking around with their oversized Starbucks in hand looking like permanent appendages. My reaction these days is; be very afraid of what the masses are doing! More important than this though, is that nagging feeling that anything I can’t do without on a daily basis may be vying for classification as an addictive behavior, and this really concerned me.
Some 6 weeks ago my convictions were put to the test when I contracted a bout of stomach flu gratis my granddaughter. I could not tolerate even the smell of a cup of coffee let alone drink it and within 3 hours I had a raging headache that lasted the better part of the day. I had heard that this is a normal reaction when a coffee drinker is deprived of his java jolt but it frightened me!
“Anything that can cause my body to react so negatively within a couple of hours of not having it can’t be good”!
I decided that day, that since I had already gone one day without coffee, it would be a good time to try a couple of weeks and see what happened.
I must admit, I did not have any expectations and I purposely tried not to look for physical changes so that I could be more objective about how my body was responding. One cup a day… how bad could that be?
Well for me, and I always need to preface with this intro, it has made a huge difference!
I noticed immediately the first week that I had begun to dream every night! I don’t ever remember dreaming like this my entire adult life! I have surmised that I must be in a deeper sleep than I usually am and hence, able to not only dream, but remember them as well. I am also happy to report that so far, they have all been good dreams… no nightmares!
I have also noticed that I am experiencing some very minor hot flashes. These are not the debilitating ones I used to get when I was 50 and going through menopause – that by the way, stopped when I quit drinking alcohol – more like little twinges, that seem to me, to be an indication that my hormones are re-balancing.
Lastly, I am definitely sleeping better in general! I now have full-nights where I don’t even get up to go to the bathroom! If good sleep is as healing as they say, then I am really helping my body to rest and rejuvenate.
Do I miss my coffee… you bet I do! Am I happy I quit… absolutely!
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Until next time,
Kathleen