How to stop drinking so much coffee: 4 effective tips

Coffee by itself does not usually cause damage to health, even if it is consumed in moderation it has benefits such as keeping us alert, improve physical performance, and provides some essential nutrients such as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, magnesium and niacin among others.

On the contrary, an excessive consumption of coffee can cause serious damage to health. Drinking more than three cups a day begins to be considered out of the recommended. That is why many people would like to eliminate their consumption and begin to wonder how to stop drinking so much coffee. Let's see several tips.

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4 tips to stop consuming so much coffee

Caffeine can be addictive, not only because of the sensation it provides by providing energy, but also because in high and prolonged consumption, the body gets used to its usual doses of coffee. For this reason, eliminating its consumption can produce withdrawal symptoms.

So, let's see how to stop drinking so much coffee on a daily basis.

1. Make the decision and have a goal

Drinking more than three cups a day is already an alert to consider giving up coffee. In theory we should not consume more than 300 milligrams, so if your intake is the same or higher and you're starting to consider quitting coffee, it's important to be determined to start a plan and stick with it until you're done.

It is important to understand that one objective may be to stop consuming so much coffee, that is, to minimize it, and another may be to completely eliminate coffee consumption. That is why we must reflect on what we want to mark an action plan.

It may be that if the consumption of coffee cups exceeds 4 a day, a goal is to reduce to two cups. Or if the goal is to remove it completely, it is recommended have a real and achievable goal about the time in which it is expected to be able to achieve it. A realistic term could be between 3 to 5 months according to the amounts that are currently used.

This step to stop drinking so much coffee is the first one that we must be very clear about by then. start planning the next suggestion to eliminate or reduce excessive consumption of this drink.

• You may be interested in: "Drinking coffee: advantages and disadvantages of its consumption"

2. Gradually decrease cups per day

Stopping drinking coffee brings with it a small inconvenience that you have to know how to solve: there is a withdrawal syndrome. Headache, fatigue, anxiety and drowsiness are the most frequent symptoms when eliminating its consumption.

For this reason, stop drinking coffee should be a gradual goal in proportion to the amount currently consumed and who you want to reach.

The exercise can be that if you currently consume 5 cups a day, you start by drinking 4 cups for 3 or 4 weeks, then reduce to 3 cups for 3 or weeks and so on until you reach the goal reached or no cups of coffee at all up to date.

This way, the caffeine that our body assimilates will be gradually reduced decreasing the withdrawal syndrome or even helping you not to feel. If the high intake of coffee per day has been carried out for a prolonged period of time, then the body is already accustomed to caffeine, and between each cup of coffee there has not been a proper process of the body to dispose of it from the body, that means that it has not worked for a long time without caffeine.

If consumption is gradually decreased, the body will not suddenly suffer from this caffeine drop and after a while the body will have become accustomed to being without it.

After you have made an action plan and gradually reduce consumption, stopping drinking so much coffee will be easier than it may seem at first.

3. substitute coffee

When caffeine consumption is high, a good way to achieve a gradual decrease in doses per day is replace it with a tea that contains caffeine and alternate it with one that does not contain.

Black or green tea contains caffeine, so it could be taken in the morning to replace coffee. Being hot and caffeinated, they could help give you the same feeling of energy that a cup of coffee provides. The following doses can be replaced by a non-caffeinated tea such as chamomile, or perhaps one of orange blossoms or relaxing herbs to help reduce withdrawal symptoms.

A dark chocolate or a cola are also good options to replace it. A cola has less caffeine than a cup of coffee, so it can be a great help to stop drinking so much coffee throughout the day.

4. Do relaxing activities

Once the plan to stop drinking coffee has been started and we begin to feel the first withdrawal symptoms, we can resort to exercises or activities that allow us to stay in peace and that serve as a palliative so as not to relapse.

Walking, swimming, doing yoga, tai chi or meditation, are some of the activities that can help perfectly because in addition to helping to release toxins also serve to become aware of our body and the importance of its health and the benefits of leaving behind a habit that hurts.

Meditation also works to relieve anxiety that causes leaving an addictive substance and with symptoms such as headache or drowsiness.

Bibliographic references:

• Waller, J. M.; Bigger, M.; Hillocks, R. J. (2007). Coffee Pests, Diseases and Their Management. CABI.
• Escobar, German. (2009). Shade in coffee plantations: a system, a strategy for food security.