INTRODUCTION
We all love Caffeine! I would say it the most used supplement. Everyone, in some form, consumes caffeine. However, it is also a good idea to have a caffeine break. Take a few days/weeks and not consume any caffeine. Why should you do this? Well, we are going to go over that in this blog.
WHERE WE CONSUME CAFFEINE
Let us first start by going over the main ways that you might be consuming caffeine. Some of them might surprise you!
Coffee:
This is a pretty obvious one! It’s the reason we drink coffee. To get that caffeine buzz. To wake us up in the morning. Coffee contains around 40mg per 100g. I think most people will have a few cups of coffee throughout the day!
Pre-Workout:
Again, an obvious one, we take pre-workout for the caffeine! To wake us up after a long day, to get us amped for the gym. A pre-workout can contain a high amount of caffeine. For 11-15g you will consume around 200-300mg of caffeine.
Energy drinks:
People are aware that energy drinks contain caffeine, I mean, that is their point. However, some people are unaware of how much and how having a few of these drinks can add up to rather a lot of caffeine.
Soda & Pop:
You may not think it but a lot of soda’s and fizzy drinks (diet or normal) contain caffeine. For example, a can of Diet Coke contains around 45mg of caffeine. Having a few soft drinks throughout the day will add to your caffeine consumption.
WHY SHOULD YOU HAHE A BREAK?:
Is caffeine “bad” for you? Not in a normal amount, 1-3 cups of coffee a day aren’t going to do you any bad. However, caffeine can be a highly addictive substance. If I am honest I think 80% if the population are addicted (Myself included). It isn’t hard to see why, taste nice, easy to consume and keeps you focused and able to do more of an activity.
The issue comes when you become caffeine dependent. If you can not do something or function without caffeine. This might be a good time to take a short break, or even cut down. The benefits of having a caffeine break are amazing.
Reset your tolerance:
As with everything in life, if you drink caffeine regularly then your body will get use to it. Your tolerance will build. This means you won’t feel the effects of coffee as much. Personally, that is the main reason we consume caffeine. So if we aren’t getting the effects, there isn’t any point.
Empty your system of caffeine:
Caffeine has a 6-hour half-life, Meaning every 6 hours, the amount in your body halves. So let us say you consume a pre-workout with 300mg of caffeine at noon midday. At 6 pm you will still have 150mg in your system, then at midnight, you will 75mg in your system. So effectively 12 hours after consuming your pre-workout, you will still have 2 cups of coffee worth of caffeine in your system. So having a caffeine break will allow your body to use up all the caffeine in your system. Leading us onto the next point.
Better nights sleep:
You will sleep better! Caffeine’s main goal is to keep us awake. When people say they don’t sleep very well I tend to say “Well, how many cups of coffee have you had?”. They tend to respond with “Oh, about 4-6 cups”. That right there is why you can’t sleep. That is 160mg of caffeine (Just from coffee) all with a 6 hour half-life. Empty your system of caffeine, you will sleep so much better.
HOW SHOULD I BREAK?
There are a few ways that you can go on a caffeine break. The first one is to go cold turkey, cut it off. On, let us say, on a Monday you just give up caffeine and stop drinking any drinks with caffeine, What you will find is that you will mainly be drinking water. This is going to be the hardest but also easiest. Hardest because you will be cutting yourself off completely, from a certain day, no caffeine! If you are fairly reliant on caffeine this can be tough. It will be the easiest because you won’t need to track or measure or check anything. You just don’t consume anything with caffeine in it.
The second options are to slowly cut it off. The way this works is to find out how much you drink and then every day or other day restrict it a bit further. Then you keep going like this till you aren’t having any caffeine. Then run a few days without caffeine. This is easier because you won’t have a sudden cutoff, but also harder in the way that you will have to track your caffeine intake. Personally, when I had a caffeine break, I just cut it off completely. Only for the fact that it is less time consuming and also I don’t have to track anything.
Know you are most likely asking yourself, How long should you have a caffeine break for? This depends on you but I would say you want at least 3-7 days without any caffeine.
WHAT IS HAVING A CAFFEINE BREAK LIKE:
Horrible! For some, for the first few days. The first 1-3 days (depending on how much caffeine you consume can be a struggle, not going to lie. Your body is so used to consuming caffeine that when you strip it away you may get some side effects. The main one being Headaches! These side effects will only last for a few days and after you will be feeling right as rain.
You might get a little tired in the morning and mid-afternoons but you will just have to fight through this. Either fight through it or move your meals round so you have more carbohydrates around these times. Having a break depends on what way you go about it and also how addicted you are to caffeine.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I BREAK:
This depends on how much caffeine you consume but also how tolerant you are to caffeine. Obviously, the point to caffeine is to provide you with a kick of energy and focus. If you feel like you aren’t getting that anymore then it might be time for a break.
This is how I tend to judge when I need a break, when the caffeine stops affecting then I know it is time for a break. Saying that I will also have a break if I find myself using a pre-workout a lot. Due to pre-workouts containing a huge amount of caffeine, I like to “cycle” these. Using a pre-workout will build your tolerance to caffeine up quicker, meaning a caffeine break might be needed sooner.
Overall, just listen to your body, if you are thinking that you might need a caffeine break, then you most likely do. Providing many of us have never had a break from caffeine. It is worth everyone having one at some point.
ANY OTHER TIPS APART FROM A FULL CAFFEINE BREAK:
Now, everyone should have a caffeine break, however, there are a few things you can do so you can still consume caffeine but also keeping your tolerance low.
Stop using Pre Workout and use a pump formula or just a coffee. As we mentioned above pre-workout has a huge amount of caffeine in it. So swapping out your pre-workout with a coffee will not only mean you are consuming less caffeine but also save you money. If you love your pre-workout, see if they do a pump formula. All the benefits of a pre-workout but without the caffeine.
Our next tip is don’t consume caffeine after a set time. We recommend stopping between 12-3 pm. Depending on your workflow. This gives your body plenty of time to use up as much of the caffeine in your body as possible. You want to end the day with as little in your system as possible. Allowing you to have a much better sleep.
Similar to the pre-workout tip, try having a Decaf coffee now and then. We aren’t on about swapping out to decaf permanently, maybe just one of your coffee’s throughout the day swap for a decaf. Decaf still contains a small amount of caffeine but nothing compared to a standard cup.
CONCLUSION
So there you go, a rather long post about caffeine and caffeine breaks. As we said, don’t be scared of caffeine just make sure that you control it and don’t let it control you. It is amazing at keeping you focused and giving you energy throughout the day, but just make sure you aren’t consuming too much of it and making other areas of your day suffer for it (Sleep and appetite).
If you have any caffeine tips or swaps, please let us know over on our Instagram. We would love to see how you all handle caffeine and caffeine breaks. If there is anything else you want us to talk about, please let us know over on our contact page or advice page.
Written by Kieran Blacker
Kieran is the CEO and Founder of Sets & Reps. He decided to make an application that helped people get a gym workout when not at the gym. He designed, Coded and built the application himself.
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