The cost of caffeine

The sentiment above is likely shared by the majority of people we know.

It’s estimated that 65% of the population in the U.S. drinks coffee daily, and if you add in tea and caffeinated beverages consumed, the number pushes even higher.

One report on the five most addictive substances listed these:

• Nicotine
• Caffeine
• Heroin
• Cocaine
• Alcohol

Eliminating caffeine is something I strongly advise my clients to consider if they want to be peak performers in business.

And if that’s not possible (we are humans, after all), I recommend stopping caffeine intake after 10 am.

Why? Because caffeine has a half life of eight to 10 hours. What that means is if you have 10 milligrams of caffeine, 10 hours later, you still have five milligrams of caffeine in your system.

And nothing affects your regulation of tiredness or energy more than caffeine. Caffeine tricks your body to thinking that it's actually more awake than it is.

It’s easy to get into the non-virtuous cycle of having more caffeine when we begin to slump after breakfast..and more when we crash after lunch.

After we eat, our blood flows from our extremities to our stomach to help it digest. This can make us tired, but offsetting that with caffeine is not going to do what you want it to. (a nap is much better!)

The other thing caffeine does is drive water out of your body.

I advise clients to try cutting out caffeine for one week.

I tell them it’s going to be hard. They’re going to get tremendous headaches and their joints will ache.

The reason is because once you no longer have caffeine in your system, the capillaries that run alongside your skull will start filling up with water instead of being dry.

And that puts pressure on your brain, which feels like a headache. The same thing will happen to your joints.

It’s going to hurt for two or three days.

And the only way to make it go away is to consume caffeine. Don’t do it.

But once you get over the hump, you’re going to see some really positive changes.

For one, you’ll go to the bathroom a lot less - even if you drink more water, because the water stays in your body.

As you might know, humans should contain about 70% water. But those who drink caffeine regularly have a water composition of 62-65%.

That’s because they’re constantly expelling urine through the diuretic properties of caffeine.

The next thing you’ll see after quitting caffeine is how much more energy you have in the afternoon.

Why? Because your body starts regulating how it spends its energy and how it uses it.

It knows you’re going to need to be functional for up to 12 hours until you go to bed again and will preserve energy for the long run.

So, yes - by skipping that afternoon coffee, you end up with more energy - and it’s naturally fuelled!

Have a great week,

Peter

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