20 Awesome Benefits of Quitting

Caffeine or Coffee
Although caffeine is generally accepted as safe for consumption in
moderation, there are some solid benefits of breaking the habit and quitting
coffee, energy drinks, tea, soda etc..

1. Break the Addiction

In most people caffeine is an addictive substance to some degree, although
some would describe it as highly addictive.

Depending on a substance to function normally or even stay awake, can

become a vicious cycle. It changes our brain’s chemistry resulting in the need
for more of the substance to achieve the desired results.

Quitting caffeine or coffee breaks the cycle and frees us from needing a daily
drug to function normally.

2. Financial Savings
The cost of a caffeine addiction can add up and thousands of dollars a year
could be saved if you quit.

Above we have listed the average cost of just one beverage a day, now
multiply that by the number you have each day and it quickly adds up.
Two Starbucks Lattes per day would cost $2,665 a year!

3. Lower Blood Pressure

Caffeine can raise your blood pressure a few points and even more in some
people.1

Quitting coffee or caffeine can lower your blood pressure and keep your heart
from working as hard.

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4. Better Sleep
Caffeine can greatly reduce the amount and quality of sleep.2 Drinking coffee
or energy drinks too late in the day can interfere with getting to sleep since
the half-life of caffeine is 4-6 hours.

Even people who have no caffeine after 12 noon report a better quality of
sleep after quitting caffeine.

5. Better Mood
Caffeine alters the mood. Many report being grumpy until they’ve had their
morning coffee and others feel lethargic when the caffeine begins to wear off
in the afternoon.

Quitting can even out the ups and downs.

6. Decreased Anxiety
Many people report that caffeine increases their anxiety levels. This has to do
with how caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands.3

Quitting coffee or caffeine can make you feel less anxious, especially if you
are prone to anxiety issues.

7. Fewer Headaches
Caffeine is a major trigger for headaches. Any alteration in your normal daily
caffeine consumption can result in a caffeine withdrawal headache.

Caffeine can also be a migraine trigger.

8. Convenience
 Imagine never having to stop at Starbucks on the way to work?
 Imagine never having to stop by the convenience store for a Red Bull?
 Imagine erasing making coffee from your morning routine?
 Imagine a backpacking trip without packing caffeine pills or the extra weight
of coffee making equipment?

Being addicted to coffee, energy drinks, or soda creates inconvenience in our

lives since we need the drug to function.

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9. Fewer Trips to the Bathroom
Caffeinated beverages cause us to urinate more often and in some people
even can cause incontinence.

Caffeine also stimulates the smooth muscles of the colon, which cause them
to contract.

This can be challenging during meetings, road trips, or when bathrooms aren’t
convenient.

Quitting can reduce the need to use the bathroom as often, especially in the
mornings.

10. Healthier Teeth

Coffee and tea stain teeth and acidic & sweet energy drinks or sodas erode
tooth enamel and can cause tooth decay.

Eliminating these beverages results in whiter and healthier teeth.

11. Weight Loss

Unless you drink your coffee black. Caffeinated beverages generally add
empty calories to our diets that we don’t really need.

Many experts say that sugary beverages are a huge component of the obesity
epidemic plaguing the western world.4

A study from Victoria University found that when caffeine is in a sugary

beverage it causes people to consumed more of that sugary beverage
compared to a sugary beverage without caffeine.5
 Quitting just a one Monster Energy Drink/day habit saves 200 calories per
day, 1,400 calories a week, or 73,000 calories a year!
 Quitting just 1 Starbucks Vanilla Latte/day saves 250 calories per day,
1,750 calories a week, or 91,250 calories a year!
 Quitting a 16 fl.oz. Coke/day habit saves 239 calories a day, 1,673 calories
a week, or 87,235 calories a year!
1 pound of fat contains the equivalent of 3500 calories, so do the math…

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12. Healthier Diet
Bottled coffees, teas, energy drinks, and sodas often contain an assortment of
preservatives designed to give them a longer shelf-life.

These preservatives can have adverse health effects and some are even
banned by other countries.

Sugar-free energy drinks and sodas contain artificial sweeteners that also can
negatively affect your health.

Cutting these out of your diet can be beneficial to your overall long-term good
health.

13. Cleaner Environment

Caffeine addiction places a tremendous strain on our natural resources. Think
of the number of plastic bottles, cans, and cups that have to be produced in
order to meet the demand.

“Americans discard about 33.6 million tons of plastic each year, but only 6.5
percent of it is recycled and 7.7 percent is combusted in waste-to-energy
facilities, which create electricity or heat from garbage. The rest ends up in
landfills where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose..” – State of The
Planet

Also, caffeine has been showing up in municipal water supplies because of all
the discarded coffee grounds.

Quitting caffeine reduces your environmental footprint.

14. Caffeine Will Work Again

Consuming caffeine daily quickly causes the human body to build up
tolerance. The same dose of caffeine then causes a person to achieve a
sense of normal rather than the euphoric feelings it once did.

Quitting resets your body’s caffeine tolerance, allowing it to work really well on
the occasions you really need it to.

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15. Possible Drug Interactions
Caffeine can interact with other medications causing them to not work as they
should.

Giving up caffeine eliminates this risk.

16. No More Jitters

One of the leading side-effects from caffeine or coffee consumption is jitters or
shaky hands. This can range from annoying to even debilitating for some
people.

Quitting can give you your steady hands back.

17. Less Risk of Cardiac Events

Caffeine stimulates the heart muscle causing it to beat with more forceful
contractions.

While this isn’t problematic for most people, those with underlying heart
conditions can be at risk. People can be unaware that they even have a heart
disorder until they begin to consume caffeine and the damage is done.

18. Increased Productivity

What would you do with an extra hour every day? Those addicted to
caffeine can easily waste an hour standing in line at the coffee shop, making
trips to the break room talking to coworkers along the way, and stopping at
convenience stores.

The time saved could be used for an extra hour of sleep instead!

19. Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk

While black coffee actually has been shown to reduce diabetes risk, drinking
sugary coffee and caffeinated beverages actually increases your risk of
diabetes.

“People who consume sugary drinks regularly—1 to 2 cans a day or more—

have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes” – Harvard School of
Public Health6

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20. Better Health
Many research studies point to the health benefits of coffee and tea because
of their antioxidant properties. However, this isn’t true for all caffeinated
beverages.

Soda, energy drinks, and processed coffee and tea products most likely have
a negative impact on your long-term health.

People who drink mainly water report more natural energy, better overall
feelings of wellness, better sleep, and healthier skin.

Should You Quit?

If you are a slave to your coffee mug or energy drink, perhaps it’s time to
assess just what caffeine is doing for you and whether or not it’s time to quit.