How To Beat Your Caffeine Addiction [Infographic]

Shane Dobbing http://www.sleepypeople.com 4m 918 #caffeine

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Need Coffee! Need Caffeine!

When we arrive at our respective jobs, it is important to always be as switched on and prepared for the day ahead.

One of the best ways to ensure you are as alert and productive at work is to get a good night’s sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests that in order for adults to be fully refreshed and rested, they should get around 8 hours each night.

However, as many of us know only too well, this is often hard to come by. Instead, we all have other ways to help us keep alert across the day.

Some like to exercise in a morning, others believe in a nutritious breakfast, however, easily the most popular is coffee.

Coffee has relatively quickly become one of the most popular drinks in the world. You only have to look at the growth of Starbucks, which went from a humble couple of stores in Seattle in the 70s to a global chain with over 25,000 outlets.

Obviously, one of the reasons coffee is so popular is because of its caffeine content, the same goes for energy drinks such as Red Bull.

Caffeine is a stimulant and is, therefore, addictive. While it is ridiculous to compare it to other more damaging addictions, it can have a negative effect on our day-to-day lives.

The more caffeine we consume, the more tolerant we become, meaning we need more to feel its benefit. This can lead to headaches, tiredness and other issues.

If you think you might drink a little too much caffeine from time to time, take a look at this infographic from sleepypeople.com.

It’s called ‘How To Beat Your Caffeine Addiction’ and has all the relevant information you need to manage your caffeine intake. Take a look below.

Click to open / Right-click for save options

Text-Friendly Version

How To Beat your CAFFEINE ADDICTION

While some people might turn their noses at the notion of a ‘caffeine addiction’, it’s important to remember that caffeine is a stimulant and is therefore slightly addictive.

Not only this, but the more caffeine you drink, you’ll start to build up a tolerance to it, meaning that you’ll need to drink more to get the desired effects.

And while most caffeine addictions aren’t too extreme, trying to wean yourself off your favourite triple shot venti beverage could have numerous side effects such as tiredness, irritability, and headaches, so here are weight steps to help kick the habit!

HOW MUCH CAFFEINE SHOULD YOU BE CONSUMING?

While the NHS don’t place strict guidelines on how much caffeine the average person should consume in a day, it’s generally agreed upon that the average person should not consume much more than 400 mg a day.

So what does this look like?

4x cups of coffee (95 mg)

5x shots of espresso (77 mg)

9x cups of tea (42 mg)

12.5x cans of coca-cola (32mg)

5x cans of Red Bull (80 mg)

2.5 cans of Monster Energy

EIGHT WAYS TO CUT YOUR CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION

1. DRINK GREEN TEA

If you absolutely need your caffeine hit every day and can’t bear to cut it out completely, try drinking a green tea in the morning.

It contains a lot less caffeine (25mg) than a regular cup of tea or coffee, and it’s also packed full of other good stuff.

2. TRY OTHER MILKY DRINKS

For those who love a nice big milky latte, it can be a good idea to replace your morning drink with something similarly milky, but with less caffeine.

This could mean a hot chocolate, chai latte, or even something such as warmed milk, but be sure to watch that sugar content!

3. CUT DOWN ON SUGAR TOO

It might seem like a painful double whammy, but cutting down on your sugar intake will really help you with your caffeine addiction.

Once you cut out the sugar high, and the subsequent crash that comes with it, you’ll crave less caffeine.

4. EAT A SNACK RICH IN PROTEIN

Something such as nuts, pumpkin seeds, a cereal bar, or yoghurt will give you the mid-afternoon energy boost which you would usually rely on caffeine for.

5. TAKE A NAP

Of course, this isn’t likely to go down well at work, but if you’re in an environment where you can get away with it, you should try and get some shut eye.

Even a nap of as little as 20 minutes in the afternoon will leave you feeling more refreshed than your coffee might do.

6. START READING LABELS

While it might be obvious to stop having your morning Starbucks or chocolate bar, there are many culprits which are less obvious.

For example, did you know that things such as chewing gum, ice cream, and ‘energy waters’ can have high caffeine contents?

7. GET MORE SLEEP

One of the most popular reasons people consume so much caffeine is that they’re not getting enough sleep, so try your best to remedy this by sticking to a strict bedtime and creating a positive sleep environment.

8. KEEP ACTIVE

Coming off caffeine will likely leave you feeling tired and sluggish, so be sure to combat this by keeping active, even if it’s just a walk around the block when you start feeling tired.

Once you set your mind to it, it’s much easier than you think to kick a caffeine addiction, and once you do, you’ll find yourself feeling more awake, alert, concentrated, and ultimately, happy!

Brought to you by SleepyPeople.com

Source: https://www.sleepypeople.com/blog/beat-your-caffeine-addiction

(