Cutting down

How do I quit caffeine without a headache?

By GyroscopeUpdated November 14, 20265 sources

Step down instead of stopping. Cut about a quarter of your caffeine every 3 days, starting with the last drink of the day. From 400 mg a day that gets you under 100 mg in about two weeks, without the big drop that brings on the worst of withdrawal.

A lot of people quit the way they’d quit anything else, all at once on a Monday. By Tuesday afternoon they have a headache, feel foggy and short-tempered, and decide caffeine has a hold on them. That’s withdrawal, and a slower step-down keeps each drop small.

We’d cut the afternoon cups first. The late drink is the one that leaves the most caffeine in you at bedtime, so your sleep starts getting better from the first step, long before you reach the bottom.

A two-week plan from 400 mg

Each step cuts about a quarter of what’s left, so the cuts get smaller as you go. The step-down planner puts dates on it, starting from your own total.

Why 3 days a step

Withdrawal is worst 20 to 51 hours after a drop, according to a 2004 review of 66 studies. Waiting 3 days between steps lets each small dip pass its worst point before you make the next one. Nobody has tested a step-down schedule in a trial, so this pace is our design, built on that timeline.

Going all the way to zero

In the same review, stopping as little as 100 mg a day still brought on symptoms in some people. If you want to quit completely, keep stepping down from 100 mg the same way, a quarter every 3 days, with tea and then decaf, until there’s nothing left to cut.

Swaps that keep the habit

Decaf has 2 to 15 mg in an 8 oz cup, by the FDA’s count, so you keep the mug, the taste and the routine (does decaf have caffeine?).

What to expect if you stop at once anyway

If you stop tomorrow, symptoms usually start 12 to 24 hours later, are worst between 20 and 51 hours and last 2 to 9 days. About half of people get a headache (how long does caffeine withdrawal last?). The step-down planner shows the date the headache would peak if you stopped tomorrow, which is usually enough to make the slow way look good.