Caffeine

This is one of my favorite scenes from Friends.


Did you know it’s the most widely used mood altering drug? I’m conducting an experiment this week to make it until Friday without Coffee or Pop, thus greatly reducing my caffeine intake. My first day was yesterday, and I didn’t really notice much until it was time for bed. I went to bed around 10-10:30, and ended up just laying there until 1 AM, which is unusual. Once I’m in bed I can usually fall right asleep. This morning I woke up with a pounding head ache, my jaw hurt, and for some reason my knees hurt. After my shower the headache went away, and I didn’t think much of it until 2nd hour. While I was daydreaming and having trouble caring about “completing the square”, my headache came back with vengeance. Fortunately Chelsea had some pain killers, the name seemed foreign to me and that’s usually a good sign it’ll be powerful, so I went to the bathroom and excitedly took one. It was AWESOME, my headache went right away and I felt fine for a long time. I’m starting now to get a slight headache but it isn’t nearly as powerful and according to wikipedia the symptoms peak at 48 hours, which I’m nearly at.

Here’s what Wikipedia said about caffeine withdrawal:

“Withdrawal symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints —may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption.”

I have no idea what adenosine receptors are but they sound pretty cool. So wish me luck, I think the worst part is behind me, I just need to make it until Friday.