I first realised my addiction to caffeine was serious during a five-hour train journey. My partner and I were doing the long slog from the South East to the West Midlands for my mum’s wedding, and that involved a 6 a.m. wake-up call and five different trains. We were up so early that not a single train station coffee shop we passed was open and I hadn’t thought to bring one along from home.
By 10 am – still no coffee services to be found – I was scrunched up on the floor with my knees pressed into my chest from intense nausea. I also had what felt like a throbbing migraine.
My partner thought I was travel sick, but when we finally arrived at our destination, my symptoms dramatically vanished the second I drank a coffee. It was one of those moments that affirm you’re not allowed to ignore the problem anymore. We both agreed that it wasn’t normal to struggle this much with caffeine withdrawal, and although we’d just seen that coffee-less me was not pretty, I had to try and quit anyway.
I was 23 years old then, and I’d been drinking coffee as an occasional treat since I was around 15. Somewhere along the line, the odd coffee ‘here and there’ became eight cups of coffee a day, all with espresso shots.
I’m not sure what exactly went wrong. I don’t have a particularly addictive personality, but I’ve had intense office jobs where often grabbing a coffee was the only on-the-clock release available, and an on-again, off-again relationship with severe insomnia. The latter meant that, some days, coffee was the only way I was making it out of the house. That’s probably enough to get hooked on endless brews.
I didn’t go searching for a remedy, but the idea to try lemon water as a means to curb a caffeine addiction landed in my lap the way all good ideas do: on TikTok. I ended up watching one of those ‘becoming #ThatGirl’ tutorial videos that dominate the clock app. And while I’m not usually one to fall for a hyperbolic influencer recommendation – I know the #ThatGirl trend has some serious problems – I was intrigued by one part of her morning routine. This particular ‘That Girl’ was using lemon water to wake herself up in the morning and topped up throughout the day for extra hits of energy when she needed it. She claimed it was as effective as a cuppa.
What are the benefits of drinking lemon water?
For a start, it won't pump caffeine into your system, followed by a mid-afternoon crash after the adrenaline runs out, leaving you feeling sick or even panicked. Coffee did that to me every day. I was sick with it, and sicker without it. So, if a harmless little yellow fruit in some water could offer me the benefits (feeling awake and ready to take the day), I was immediately on board to give it a go.
I chose to start the experiment during one of the many lockdowns, so working from home could provide some solitude to struggle somewhat privately. I bought a bag of lemons (possibly for the first time – I’m no cook) and tried to resist the urge to grab the Douwe Egberts jar each hour.
Before jumping in head-first, I asked Lee Mitchell, a nutritionist and UK Fitness Ambassador Renpho, about what lemon water could do for a caffeine addict like me.
She says that starting your day with a glass of lemon water can provide a refreshing source of hydration. “Because it provides a refreshing source of vitamin C and antioxidants which support energy levels and boost overall well-being, it’s a good replacement for coffee when trying to quit,” she explains.
As staying hydrated will energise your body, this may also negate the need for caffeine in the first place and help with fatigue as you start to come off of the drug.
Mitchell says lemon water has myriad health benefits outside of caffeine curbing too, including kickstarting your metabolism when drunk during the morning. Though, she stresses it's important not to have lemon water for breakfast. “You need food, too.”
“It's important to note that while lemon water has its merits, it's not a substitute for a well-rounded diet rich in a variety of nutrients,” she explains.
She does warn that those who struggle with acid reflux or sensitive stomachs, though, should consume lemon water carefully and in moderation. “As lemon water is acidic in nature, this could potentially exacerbate symptoms and discomfort,” Mitchell explains.
The acidic nature of lemon water could potentially affect tooth enamel, so consider using a straw and rinsing your mouth afterwards. While lemon water can be a healthy habit, it's wise to consult with a nutrition professional to ensure it aligns with your individual health goals.
My experience with lemon water…
With all this in mind, I officially started my lemon water journey. The first thing I noted: lemon water will do absolutely nothing for certain caffeine withdrawal symptoms. According to studies on caffeine withdrawal, the duration of withdrawal symptoms varies from person to person, but caffeine withdrawal usually lasts between two to nine days. Someone who abruptly stops caffeine intake after regular use will usually feel withdrawal effects between 12 and 24 hours after stopping.
I never quit ‘cold turkey’ from coffee, though. Instead, I replaced one coffee per day with lemon water and increased the daily replacements in increments of one each week. This meant my withdrawal symptoms were a bit less severe, but from day three, I felt like I’d emerged from the bottom of a well every morning. That same nausea I felt on the train was back.
To be fair, no one – including TikTok’s ‘That Girls’ – said that lemon water would ease the withdrawal stage. The recommendation is more about offering a safer alternative to caffeine that has similar benefits. Still, I was thinking wishfully, but it unfortunately doesn't help.
It also doesn’t taste as good, let’s be real. I enjoy sour and citrus flavours, so it was simply a refreshing drink to have with breakfast, but part of my caffeine injection was fuelled by an obsession with the coffee flavour. There’s something so comforting about a hot, bitter drink, and I felt its absence viscerally.
The symptom I’d feared most never appeared, though. I worried that with switching from coffee to lemon water, I’d be extremely tired all the time. Yet, lemon water really did offer a significant, unexpected boost of energy TikTok promised me I’d get.
Could this be my new flat white?
Lemon water’s waking-up properties are very different to coffee’s. While a cup of coffee (or several if you’ve built a tolerance) offers an instant, shock-like wake-up that leaves you feeling wired, lemon water is more of a gentle nudge into waking up. I’d compare it to having the covers pulled off of you (coffee) versus your mum softly waking you because it’s time to go to school (lemon water).
Though I missed the reliability and instant gratification of caffeine on particularly difficult days, or following nights where I got no sleep, I eventually came to realise that coffee was never waking me up – just holding my eyes open while stealthily poisoning me (caffeine can cause dehydration, dizziness and headaches, anxiety and heart palpitations). So, I know which kind of wake-up drink I’d rather use.
Around three months into my lemon water experiment, I was able to reduce my caffeine intake to one cup of coffee in the morning before switching to water. Sometimes, I added the lemons, but eventually, I found that my natural ability to wake up – and stay awake – was slowly but surely returning to me.
Three years on, the lemon water is gone. I can’t be arsed to buy fresh lemons all the time. But the caffeine addiction didn’t come back, and I have lemon water to thank for that, even if I didn’t make it a permanent part of my routine. I still only have one coffee every day, and it’s for the taste more than anything else.
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