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Caffiene diet...
Nov. 18th, 2011 04:58 pmSo yesterday I tantalised everyone with a '(more about that later)', then got too damn busy to live up to the promise. My apologies. Anyway, yes, I am making a move that is equivalent to going blonde or owning a pair of white trousers - I am cutting down on caffiene. Yes, this is me, my account has not been hacked - or if it has, this entry isn't part of the hack.
Me, L. Duck, confirmed caf-fiend since puberty, had to be talked out of thanking Percol on the acknowledgements of my dissertation, maker of chocolate coffee beans to eat in class, etc. Why? To be honest, mostly for health reasons.
I don't think coffee itself is unhealthy. I do, however, think disordered sleep patterns are unhealthy, and that's what I've been getting. Not going to bed until midnight, not sleeping until possibly a few hours later, not waking up until late morning, quaffing several cups of coffee in a row, being jittery for a few hours, rinse, lather, repeat isn't conducive to getting these sodding corrections done, finding a contingency plan if it all goes wrong, or otherwise having a good life. The low point was drinking cola on Sunday night, taking a ton of valerian (which helps me sleep but patchily and always with more-or-less horrible dreams) to counteract it, and having a vivid, realistic and very scary nightmare on a subject that worries me anyway.
Also, if I get into the habit of five cups a day, it takes six to have any real effect, then that becomes a habit, then I end up like the Countess who can down ten of the things in a day without any obvious effect. And that would be a waste of coffee. I'd rather keep it as a pleasure.
So now I'm keeping coffee down to the minimum effective dose for the circumstances. And to the equivalent of four full-size cups a day, all before 5pm. It won't fix my life, but I'm hoping the better sleep patterns and greater effectiveness of less coffee will help...
Me, L. Duck, confirmed caf-fiend since puberty, had to be talked out of thanking Percol on the acknowledgements of my dissertation, maker of chocolate coffee beans to eat in class, etc. Why? To be honest, mostly for health reasons.
I don't think coffee itself is unhealthy. I do, however, think disordered sleep patterns are unhealthy, and that's what I've been getting. Not going to bed until midnight, not sleeping until possibly a few hours later, not waking up until late morning, quaffing several cups of coffee in a row, being jittery for a few hours, rinse, lather, repeat isn't conducive to getting these sodding corrections done, finding a contingency plan if it all goes wrong, or otherwise having a good life. The low point was drinking cola on Sunday night, taking a ton of valerian (which helps me sleep but patchily and always with more-or-less horrible dreams) to counteract it, and having a vivid, realistic and very scary nightmare on a subject that worries me anyway.
Also, if I get into the habit of five cups a day, it takes six to have any real effect, then that becomes a habit, then I end up like the Countess who can down ten of the things in a day without any obvious effect. And that would be a waste of coffee. I'd rather keep it as a pleasure.
So now I'm keeping coffee down to the minimum effective dose for the circumstances. And to the equivalent of four full-size cups a day, all before 5pm. It won't fix my life, but I'm hoping the better sleep patterns and greater effectiveness of less coffee will help...