Apparently I can’t stop experimenting with ways to improve my energy, sleep and overall health. But since I became old, all those things have gotten worse, and I want to finish aging as well as I can.
Last month my efforts included seeing an allergist to find out exactly what’s taxing my system and what I can change to feel better. The results were surprising.
She confirmed what I knew: sugar, wheat and dairy hurt me. But I’m also bothered by dust (so I’m getting rid of things in my bedroom that collect it) and here’s a new one: certain acidic foods are hard on my stomach. Some of these foods will be a relief to eat less of, but some will be hard. Avoiding chocolate, citrus, and tomatoes is no problem, but cutting down on coffee – ouch!
Actually, it kind of feels like a welcome correction. For years I’ve been making myself eat dark chocolate and citrus fruits, and drink coffee because I think I should have those things. Plus normal grownups love them and I want to be normal. At the age of 50 (seven years ago) I forced myself to develop a taste for coffee and since then I’ve become quite dependent on it. I am hooked on it now, so that will be the hard one to change.
Because it’s the strong acidity that’s the problem, not the caffeine, my doctor suggested I switch to green tea. I consider just about everything in life an experiment, such as my entrepreneur experiment, my various book club experiments, and my five-year marriage experiment. So these days it’s the less-caffeine experiment, with green tea in the morning instead of coffee.
Making this change has convinced me that no one should quit a coffee habit cold turkey. I was only drinking 12 oz of coffee a morning, yet stepping down to a couple of cups of green tea a day really hit me. The problem was mostly fatigue. The green tea keeps the headaches away, but I’m functioning on maybe half the caffeine I was on before.
The change drained my energy. But just four days in, I had the best and longest night’s sleep I’d had in a long time. When I got out of bed, I wasn’t pushing against the desire to get right back in. I felt truly awake! I’d started this experiment on the advice of a doctor, but that was my first evidence that cutting caffeine would improve my actual life. Better sleep was a benefit I could feel.
The sugar-free lifestyle I started a year ago (no sugary desserts/treats/snacks/beverages) only lasted through December. In January I ended up back on my usual habit. During a recent descent into terrible depression symptoms, my consumption of all sweet foods went way up. I felt like a failure.
But after meeting with the allergist, I’m motivated to get back on the horse. The problem is that cutting sugar at the same time as cutting caffeine is not a good idea. They’re both used for an energy boost and if you lose them both, where do you go? Well, I’m trying to make it work with green tea and a lot of patience.
There are many articles and videos on the benefits of quitting caffeine, but I can’t find a single one on the benefits of decreasing your caffeine intake. So here’s my take: switching to green tea from coffee has improved my sleep, so I think there are benefits to reducing caffeine even if you’re not planning to quit it completely.
Recently I learned that some people’s bodies move caffeine out of their system faster than others. Those of us whose bodies metabolize caffeine more slowly are more sensitive to its effects. Apparently one sign of which type you are is whether or not coffee tastes bitter to you. I’ve always been sensitive to caffeine and coffee has always tasted bitter to me (yet I still drink it black). So it’s kind of a relief to let go of it.
The one thing I’m truly sad about as I say good-bye to coffee is the loss of the social part. I loved feeling like a typical grownup, slurping down that bitter, grownup beverage that is everywhere in the U.S. If a meeting or conference or networking event provides any food or drink, it’s coffee and I love participating in that ritual.
Giving up coffee is a relief physiologically (and taste-wise), but it also feels like a big loss socially. I don’t drink alcohol, smoke, do drugs, love tea, have children, own property, nor have a big career. What distinguishes me as a grownup if I don’t at least drink coffee?
I guess I resume a stunted existence as a girl-woman whose favorite beverages are various forms of water.
I comfort myself with my improved sleep, which is a decent consolation prize. I’m still mouth taping and my tendency to sleep through the night without waking has gotten better. Add the effect of reduced caffeine and I do have more energy during the day!
So, while decreased ability to sleep often happens as we age, this old woman is on her way to getting better sleep. The resulting better energy will have to make up for the loss of pouring a cup of coffee every morning with the grownups and telling myself I’m one of them.
