Caffeine Dependency

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Caffeine Dependency

If you can’t imagine morning without a cup of hot coffee, you’re not alone: About 75 percent of Americans use caffeine to clear out the morning cobwebs and jump-start their bodies. Whether they guzzle coffee, tea or cola, sip cocoa or nibble on chocolate bars, most people are well-acquainted with the quick energy boost that comes from caffeine.

What’s wrong with that? Nothing—until the caffeine leaves your body about six to eight hours after your last fix. Then you’re fighting the urge to nod off.

While the obvious way to avoid this crash-and-burn syndrome is to cut out caffeine completely, going cold turkey can leave you shaky, exhausted and irritable, all classic symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. The natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor’s approval, may help you reduce your dependency on caffeine, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You are unable to reduce your need for caffeine. You are troubled by persistent problems of stomach upset, such as nausea and bloating. You are constantly nervous or irritable. You have chronic insomnia. Your heartbeat is often rapid or irregular. You experience frequent headaches or ringing in the ears or see flashing zigzag lights. You are often dizzy.

Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy

You can learn to cope without coffee, says Patricia Kaminski, co-director of the Flower Essence Society, a Nevada City, California, organization that studies and promotes the therapeutic use of flower remedies/essences. She advises nocturnal types to take four drops of the flower essence Morning Glory four times a day, with one dose first thing in the morning and the last dose right before bedtime. Over time, she says, this will help you readjust your internal clock, so you start the day feeling energized, not traumatized.

Flower essences are available in some health food stores and through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 635). For more information on pre paring and administering flower essences, see page 37.

Food Therapy

To free your body of caffeine, Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition, recommends that you follow his three-week detoxification diet (see “Detoxing Your Ills” on page 48).

Sound Therapy

Relaxation is one of the keys to beating caffeine dependency, and listening to the right music for 20 to 30 minutes each day can help you relax, according to Steven Halpern, Ph.D., composer, researcher and author of Sound Health: The Music and Sounds That Make Us Whole. To get started, says Dr. Halpern, turn on the music, then sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and take a deep breath. He suggests that you wear headphones to focus your full attention and avoid distraction. He recommends, however, that you keep the speakers playing, so your body absorbs the sound energy. While the music plays, let your breath slow down and become steady. Listen not just to the notes but to the silence between the notes. Dr. Halpern says this will keep you from analyzing the music, which will allow it to relax you.

For suggested pieces to relax by, see “Sailing Away to Key Largo” on page 129. Many of these are available in music stores. For information on ordering any of the works, refer to the resource list on page 642.

Yoga

It’s easier to give up your caffeine habit if you’re willing to pick up a yoga habit, according to Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. Fifteen to 20 minutes of meditation daily, combined with your choice of three or four yoga poses, will give you energy bursts to replace the caffeine jolts you’ve come to depend on, she says.

For instruction on meditation, see page 153; choose your poses from the Daily Routine, which begins on page 606.