Before I could sit down to write this post, I had to have my morning cup of coffee. At lunch time, I’ll enjoy a refreshing Diet Coke from the HowStuffWorks Soda Machine of Doom, a fridge stocked with 21 varieties of carbonated delights. For my afternoon pick-me-up, I’ll likely need a taste of chocolate. And if I don’t get those things? I will be one very grumpy girl with a massive headache. Yes, I have a bit of a caffeine problem.

While WebMD points out that there are many health benefits to be gained from caffeine, there are also plenty of good reasons to give it up. Soda and coffee can stain your teeth, and they’re hard on the stomach. A coffee shop habit is pretty pricey indulgence, and caffeine can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. Personally, though, I don’t like feeling like a slave to a substance, and I don’t want caffeine to be a prerequisite for my sanity. However, those caffeine withdrawal headaches and mid-morning lethargic slumps provide a frightening glimpse of how difficult the quitting process will be.

While researching this post, I was hoping to find an easy breezy way to get rid of caffeine, but I’m sad to say that I couldn’t find one. Whether you go cold turkey or ease yourself off the stuff, you’ll experience some of the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, which include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability and of course, that awful headache. The process of caffeine withdrawal can be so bad that a Johns Hopkins professor has been working to get the condition included in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, according to National Geographic. Just writing that sentence made me crave coffee.

Still, there are ways to make the transition to a caffeine-free lifestyle a little easier. First, get out the calendar and set a date for quitting, taking into consideration when withdrawal symptoms will be at their peak. CNN reports that symptoms will kick in about 12 to 20 hours after your last nip of caffeine, but the absolute worst won’t hit until two days later. If Monday morning is consistently a busy time for you, then schedule your caffeine withdrawal as far in advance of that day as possible.

You’ll also need to schedule in lots of extra sleep, and you should make permanent adjustments if you’ve been using coffee as a substitute for shut-eye. Find a new perk-up method, like brisk walks around the block. Stay away from alcohol for awhile, which will likely only magnify that withdrawal headache. Before popping a pill for the headache, check the label — you’ll only be feeding the fire if you use a product that contains caffeine. The best thing you can put into your system during withdrawal is water, and lots of it. If you don’t like plain water, try adding some lemon; I’ve also had good luck with those sugar-free, caffeine-free powders you can mix with water.

And though you may be tempted to go cold turkey on the caffeine, your symptoms will be milder if you slowly eliminate the caffeine from your diet. If you drink three cups of coffee a day, first try a week at two cups a day, then a week at one cup. When you’re down to just one cup of coffee, go half-caf, half-decaf until you’re ready to let go of the caffeine monster for good.

If all you crave is more information, HowStuffWorks has you covered:
How Coca-Cola Works
Top 10 Physical Energy Zappers
17 Obscure Brands of Soda Pop
Caffeine Quiz
Coffee Quiz