Going decaf

I’ve been doing an experiment the past few weeks. I’ve stopped consuming caffeine, which for me means swapping regular coffee with decaf coffee. I don’t drink a ton of coffee anyway, maybe 2-3 cups a day, but I’ve definitely noticed a difference by cutting caffeine out of my diet.

When I have regular coffee, it will help me focus for a short while, say an hour or so. But I also notice that it puts me on edge a bit. I’m more alert and anxious. This can be handy if you’re feeling groggy and tired, but I generally try to get enough sleep anyway, so I mainly notice the increased anxiousness. To me, the marginal gain in focus is not worth the increased anxiousness, so that’s why I’ve tried cutting it out.

So far, so good. I’m going to continue on decaf because it’s seemed to make a difference for me. I still enjoy drinking coffee for the sensation and taste, especially in the morning.

What about you? Have you ever noticed increased anxiousness with caffeine?