And no, I'm not Mormon.
The key word is "avoid", not "cut out completely." I had a Coke today, in fact.
But in recent years, I seem to have drifted away from caffeine. That's weird, too, because we live in an age where there is a Starbucks on every corner, energy sodas, energy shots, and even caffeine pills (for the purists).
So why do I avoid caffeine?
It all started in college, which is also weird because that is the place/time when most people develop a caffeine addiction. My freshman year in college was a massive step up for me in terms of academic difficulty. I had never been in a position where I felt so lost and unprepared. From the beginning, I knew it was going to be tough. I knew there would be times when I would need to stay up all night and crank out homework assignments.
Knowing this, I decided to set in motion a plan. I decided that I would avoid caffeine at all costs, right up until the moment I really needed it. I reasoned that if I constantly drank caffeine, I would develop a tolerance for the effects and it would cease to be useful unless I upped the dosage. I don't like to become addicted to things, so I decided that I wouldn't let this chain of events occur. I would simply avoid caffeine until I needed to pull an all-nighter, and then I would down a few drinks, get buzzed, and "GSD" (get shit done), as my roommates and I would say.
The funny thing was, that never happened. I never pulled an all-nighter. I just always found a way to get done with things before 12:37 so I could watch Craig Ferguson (miss that show). Sometimes I don't really know how I did it, it seemed inevitable, but I pulled off the escape like a great magician.
The takeaway from my college experience was that I didn't really need caffeine. Sure, I still got tired in the afternoons, and sure, sometimes I had trouble staying awake in certain classes, but I could manage. Usually it would pass, and once I was "over the hump" of the mid-afternoon crash, I would be fine for the rest of the day and night. In fact, nighttime is usually when I am most energetic (which unfortunately led to me staying up late, not getting enough sleep, and being tired the next afternoon, but that's a different issue).
Of course, maybe I am weird. I've always been kind of an insomniac, not really to a troubling extent, but just so much that I try to avoid things that will keep me awake. If anything, I should have developed a dependence on sleeping medication in college rather than caffeine, but oh well.
There is also the possibility that because I am a natural introvert I have a greater ability than extroverts to stay awake regardless of my environment, at least according to this study. The results seemed rather surprising to me, as they found extroverts exposed to stimulating environments showed more fatigue than introverts exposed to the same environments after being deprived of sleep.
In my personal experience, though, the study checks out. When I am out with more extroverted friends, oftentimes they seem to crash harder after a night on the town or a day travelling than I do. My theory to this is that extroverts, when given a socially stimulating situation, often consume more energy partaking in it, while introverts display the same amount of energy regardless.
In any case, because I don't use and abuse caffeine like so many people, I've looked more into if that is actually a good thing. My gut instinct tells me that caffeine probably isn't good for you, at least once you get to a certain level, but sources like this seem to say that it is actually good for you! On the other hand, articles like this say that it can be bad for you. There are lots more out there that say different things, and it also probably varies with the individual and the dosage/timing. In the end, it is really up to you to decide if you should drink caffeine.
Is this your only friend?
Why Avoid It?
Health issues aside, I think there are other reasons to avoid caffeine.
As I grow up, I've tried to become the kind of guy that doesn't depend on things. There are, of course, certain basic things I do depend on (food, water, shelter, etc.), but I would like to be able to function properly without too much else. I don't want to be one of those people that needs caffeine in order to just get up in the morning, or act civil towards others.
If you need caffeine in order to stay awake, then you can probably manage as long as there is a consistent supply, which there usually is. But what if you need to drive all night or do something else to that effect, and there is no caffeine to be found? I would like to be able to accomplish such a task without the need for performance enhancing drugs.
The other reason I think it is good to avoid caffeine is because caffeine doesn't really help you solve the larger problem: you aren't getting enough sleep.
When something is wrong with your body, it sends pain signals to the brain which are unpleasant, and they force you to deal with whatever is causing the pain. Caffeine is like taking a painkiller, you are curing the symptoms but not the problem.
If you didn't get enough sleep, and that is a rare occurrence for you, then it's okay to drink some caffeine to get through your day, so long as you work towards getting more sleep in the future. That's like taking a painkiller when you know the cause of the pain, are doing things to fix it, and simply don't want to be in pain all the time.
But chronic sleep deprivation that leads to caffeine abuse is more serious, and something that shouldn't just be band-aided. By consistently drinking caffeine you are giving your body the false confidence that it can be alert on little sleep, which won't give it any incentive to get more sleep. Denying yourself caffeine forces you to deal with the bigger issue, get more sleep, and then reduce your need for caffeine.
Now, if you are on the verge of sleep and need to operate heavy machinery, then by all means put safety first and get some go-juice, but if you are falling asleep at your office desk then consider doing other things to try and stay awake.
Oftentimes I get tired purely because of boredom. If I am intellectually stimulated then I find no trouble staying awake. this may very well be the case for you, so try resisting the urge to get a cup of joe if you are tired, and instead try to work on something more stimulating. Or just get up, walk around, splash some cool water on your face, etc. There are other ways to stay awake that don't involve drugs.
Conclusion
Caffeine is a part of so many of our lives, so the thought of living without it seems silly. But I encourage you to at least try to reduce your intake, a little at first, and work your way up to "every now and then". It will probably be hard, but the long term benefits could be quite favorable.
I just like the feeling that I am in control of my own consciousness and energy. I'm not bouncing off the walls all the time, but at least I can stay awake when I need to. The choice is yours: be forever reliant on overly expensive coffee, or be reliant on your own self.
