This is a New Year’s resolution that a lot of people will probably be making. The idea of cutting down on caffeine is something we all think about occasionally. If you start the day with a coffee and keep on topping up your mug as you go through the morning, you might benefit from reducing your intake a bit.
The important thing to remember is not to go overboard. Some people make the mistake of cutting out coffee altogether, and that will lead to a big headache if you are used to having the caffeine every day.
The best way to do things is to reduce it gradually. Remember too that unless you have suddenly found out you are allergic to caffeine – which is pretty unlikely – you don’t have to come off it altogether. So for example, if you normally have four cups of coffee during the morning, you could try and reduce that down to three cups for a couple of weeks or so. Once you are used to that you can reduce it down to two.
If you do eventually want to come off caffeine altogether you will find there is a good range of decaffeinated products out there that you can buy. You do need to bear in mind however that not everyone has decaf at home. If you visit a friend or relative it might be best to take a small supply of coffee with you that is decaffeinated. That way you can enjoy your favourite drink without staying awake all night because you have had caffeine you are no longer used to.
Of course not everyone will want to cut down on caffeine just because we are at the beginning of the New Year. If you are quite happy drinking the amount you do and you don’t have any ill effects from it, just carry on as you are. But if you find you cannot sleep and you can’t seem to relax properly you might be better off reducing it for a while to see if it makes a difference. You might find that it does.
As you can see there is no need to deprive yourself of your favourite coffees even if you do decide to cut back slightly on your intake. Provided you do things sensibly you can still enjoy those flavoursome tastes and aromas and reduce your caffeine at the same time.