February is a short month, therefore I’m already half-way through my challenge of giving up coffee for a month. I can tell you that time didn’t pass by fast at all in the beginning. The first few days were highly dreadful. I would wake up with headaches and quite nauseous. This all happened because I did not drink my usual cup of morning coffee.
I began to find ways to help my body feel awake and refreshed. Some things worked and others didn't. Here is what helped me:
Splashing Face with Cold Water
This sounds almost stupid, but the cold water on your face really does refresh and wake me up.
Walking the Dog
There’s nothing more refreshing than fresh air. Walking the dog became a good way to activate all my joints and muscles as well absorb some sunlight. Sometimes I think my mood is directly related to my weather and seeing the sun really does brighten my mood. I also love it when Teddy meets a new friend along the way!
Tea/Hot Chocolate
It’s really hard to give up caffeine entirely so for those times when I needed a bit of a jolt tea helped. I find green tea makes me sleepy though. Black tea works best. Hot chocolate with a hint of cayenne pepper and cinnamon is also a great way to spice up the morning!
15 minute naps
Sometimes you just need to nap and taking a little 15 minute power nap can be what I need. It’s a great way to rest the eyes and get them away from the a billion screens that make up my life.
I hope I can continue to ignore coffee for the month. However, I have a business meeting on Friday at a coffee shop called the Roastery. Would it be too pretentious to order a tea?
Tiana Feng 