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Tips and Tricks When Going Caffeine Free

Recently I spent about 2 or 3 months without caffeine, which was no small feat for someone who has lived on coffee and tea since about 6th grade. Also college just works better when drinking insane amounts of coffee. I am going to divide my tips into energy tips and drink tips because these are the two challenges I faced.

Energy Tips
As a college student who's first class starts at 9AM most day and whose last class does not end till 8PM I have a really long day. Throw in already reduced energy levels because of chronic illness, pre going caffeine free that stuff was my life line. Here is how I managed not to fall asleep in class-

  • Naps, naps, and more naps. Every afternoon I took a nap without question. It was all about timing. I never took naps past 5 and always had at least a half hour between waking up and class.
  • Snacks that gave me energy, like nuts (although sometimes supplemented with twizzlers on occasion), this was especially important if I was trying to stay up late to finish a paper.
  • Sugary juices, actually I only really drank cranberry juice since I couldn't have anything acid and hate apple juice. I found the sugar gave me an energy boost and the crash wasn't as bad as most sugary things.
My Sans Caffeine Study Kit

Drink Tips
I am about the whitest white girl ever and look forward to enjoy millions of pumpkin spice lattes every fall (maybe not quite millions but you get the point). I did not want to give up my favorite drinks that easily.
  • The first lesson I learned was decaf does not mean caffeine free. So if you are just trying to cut back on caffeine decaf is great but if you want to cut it out of your diet altogether I am sorry to tell you the bad news.
  • Most places will work with you to make you a caffeine free beverage, once I had a barrister that was really excited and asked me if I could try his new fall creation that was caffeine free. This is probably the hardest tip to follow because I don't know about you but I am not good at speaking up for myself.
  • Use this as an opportunity to expand your horizons. Herbal teas are pretty great. I also learned the Starbuck's peppermint hot chocolate is pretty awesome even if it isn't quite a PSL.
Rocking the Peppermint Hot Cocoa

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