OK first off I confess I am a coffee user... I know its OK to drink a few cups a day, but there are times when I am flat out at work that I rely on coffee to keep me going way too much.
If I have a hectic day at work - sitting at my computer all day - I tend to only get up to make coffee. I often miss lunch altogether and then find I have a headache, feeling shattered and irritable but without feeling hungry. Coffee can become my substitute diet.
I know its ridiculous - I work in health care so I should know better. In my head I do. But when I am under pressure, it can all go out of the window! I only really notice that I am getting too reliant on coffee when the pressure drops and I find that I wake up with a headache, have a coffee and it goes. This is the wakeup call I need to lower my coffee intake.
Here's what I am going to try (in accordance with NHS guidelines):
- Eat more often. Eat 3 or 4 healthy meals and snacks rather than 1 big meal. No more coffee lunches for me then...
- Take more exercise. Although you can feel too tired to exercise, in the long term it will give you more energy (as well as improving your health and weight). Start gradually and build up over weeks or months to get to the 2.5hrs a week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise it is recommended. 'Davinas 15 mins to fitness' DVD here I come...
- Lose weight to increase your energy. I generally eat well (other than my coffee habit) and so the fitness DVD should help.
- Sleep well. This I am not great at. The Royal College of Psychiatrists' advice on getting a good night’s sleep is to go to bed and get up in the morning at the same time everyday; avoid naps through the day, and have a hot bath before bed (as hot as you can bear without scalding you) for at least 20 minutes.
- Reduce stress. Sounds easy but can be tough. You cant control the stresses that life throws at you, but you can control how much time you give to relaxing. Its whatever floats your boat - reading, gardening, walking, reading. Anything that is not related to work (or your children!).
- Reduce or stop caffeine. The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. It says the best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks (and that includes coffee and tea and cola drinks) over a three-week period. Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.You may find that stopping caffeine gives you headaches. If this happens, cut down more slowly on the amount of caffeine that you drink. I have started this process by drinking decaff every other coffee or having a cup of tea - I am not a cold drinks person but I will try..
- Drink less alcohol. Although alcohol makes you sleepy, you will sleep less deeply and so wake tired even if you sleep all night. Cut down on alcohol before bedtime. Even as a social, light drinker you should have 2-3 days alcohol free a week to allow you liver to rest and recover.
- Drink more water. Sometimes you feel tired because you are mildly dehydrated. Try a glass of water as a pick-me-up. I am not great at this one, but I will try to drink a glass of water rather than a cup of coffee and see if that helps.
Avoid:
- Energy drinks - although they give you a short boost through their high sugar and caffeine mix, its a short lived effect and may then leave you with low mood, raised blood pressure, irritability and weight gain. Not great!
- Vitamin supplements rather than eating well. There are no shortcuts in life - invest in your health by eating well. I am making an effort to cook more from scratch - its quite relaxing, not as expensive as I had feared and means that I eat better and so do my kids.
Caffeine causes a release of adrenaline which puts your body into a state of alert - its the 'fight or flight' response and is the reason why we feel more alert. However, it also puts a stress on our bodies to be in this adrenaline state unnecessarily. This can eventually lead to adrenal exhaustion where you have to drink more and more caffeine to get the same lift. Caffeine is an additive drug - even a low consumption can lead to a 'low' once the caffeine wears off. Consuming too much caffeine leads to poor sleep, irritability, mood swings, depression, tiredness and anxiety.
OK, I really will reduce my coffee consumption!
