I Gave Up Coffee For A Week – The Side-Effects Were Alarming

Not only does coffee not dehydrate you, but it could also improve your heart health and has been linked to ageing and longevity benefits for women. 

It’s even been linked with heart and gut benefits, and may play a role in reducing mouth cancer risk.

In moderation, and ideally when drunk in the morning, in moderate amounts (roughly three cups a day or less), and without any cream or sugar, it seems my beloved cup of Java really might be beneficial.

But I’ll confess my love for coffee led me to think I’d be immune to the caffeine withdrawal linked to going from multiple cuppas to zero in a rush. 

I changed my coffee routine last week because I was going over my personal limit and had started getting the jitters at work – worry, as well as an upset stomach, can be signs of consuming too much caffeine. 

Here, I asked GP Dr Nicholas Dragolea about why caffeine withdrawal hit me so hard, what it means about coffee in general, and why it happens to begin with. 

Why do we get caffeine withdrawals? 

I had experienced sleepiness, headaches, and even moodiness in my week without coffee, all of which took me by surprise (though they’re documented side effects of giving up caffeine).

But going from my usual three extra-strong, extra-large cups of black coffee before I even opened my work laptop to zero meant this was basically inevitable, Dr Dragolea shared. 

“If you are used to having coffee daily and then stop, it can give caffeine withdrawal symptoms such as the ones you described,” he said. 

“Caffeine works by blocking a chemical produced by our brain called adenosine. One of the roles of adenosine is to regulate our sleep. If your brain is used to having coffee every day, then your brain compensates for the blocked adenosine receptors by creating even more of them.

“If you suddenly stop having coffee, then these extra receptors are left unblocked and the effect of adenosine is multiplied.” 

In other words, you’re left more tired; adenosine may also be a “core component” of headache pain, a 2017 paper suggested.

How long does caffeine withdrawal last?

OK, it’s nice to know the science behind my head-splitting, exhausting symptoms. 

But, I beseeched the doc, this can’t go on forever – right? 

Good news!

“It’s more of a short-term rebound effect, and it will normalise again over time,” Dr Dragolea told us. 

Healthline puts it at two to nine days (I guess I’m on the latter end). 

Is caffeine withdrawal a sign I need to quit coffee?

Of course, another way to get rid of caffeine withdrawal is to simply drink coffee again. But my symptoms have left me confused: is this a sign I should never touch the stuff?

Reassuringly, the longevity doctor told me: “It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with coffee.” 

The drink “has been shown to be healthy in moderation... Large studies have shown a decrease in the risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” he continued. 

But yes, there is a limit.

“Having too much caffeine can increase heart rate, worsen anxiety and disturb sleep, so you need to have a balance and find the right dose for you,” Dr Dragolea stated. 

“If you find that it’s causing you side effects, then you might need to cut down or have a less strong coffee.” 

In other words, if I can stick to pre-jitter levels of coffee in the morning, I should be fine (thank goodness, because I’m not keen to live through another week of these surprisingly intense symptoms).