54% of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee every day.

With this being said, I am in that 54%. I am a college student with a busy lifestyle, and unfortunately, do not have time to take a nap every day.

This week, I challenged myself. Could I really go one full week without drinking coffee or energy drinks and stick to pure natural energy, and perhaps make room for a nap here and there? Would I feel better or be perpetually tired?

I have heard things like “if you drink coffee every day it will cause you to be more stressed out”, or “the acidity in coffee can cause stomach issues for the future”. I even looked up 10 reasons why you should quit coffee, that you can find here. I have heard these things time and time again, but I have refused to listen because I am stubborn and love my coffee with a passion.

In sense, this was a little bit like my juice cleanses, but a little bit different. It was for sure a journey, that I did like to experience, but I was happy when Monday finally came around I was able to drink coffee again.

Monday:

Today was a holiday. I woke up late, not worrying about having class, and I had work around 1:30. I got a restful sleep and was ready to work. I get the most tired between 2-4, so this shift was going to be interesting, not having my morning coffee to accompany me through my daily endeavors. It was 4:30, and I was getting restful. I grabbed a black tea in place of my coffee, and I felt better, but still a bit tired. My shift was done at 5:30, I had dinner and got sleepy around 8:45. I ended up going to bed around 12:00.

Tuesday:

I had an early morning work shift, starting at 7:30. I was sleepy after waking up at 6:30, but I was doing alright. It was a beautiful morning and the cool breeze woke me up gently. I worked until 11:30, when I got a black tea, once again, and I went off to class. It all hit me mid-way through the lecture when I found myself dozing off. I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t do this”. But I could and I did, so I laid back after class, and then went off to my next one an hour or so later. I was feeling better. No troubles staying awake in my second class. I was done around 4:00 and made time for a nap. I was very tired. I woke up from my nap, grabbed some dinner and was fine for the rest of the night.

Wednesday:

Class at 10 until noon, and then I went home and hung out with some pals. I didn’t find myself tired today! I did get to sleep a little longer than usual, but it was nice to be feeling good. By the time 5:00 hit, I was getting a little tired, but nothing a plate of food couldn’t fix. I stayed up until 10:00 and it was time to hit the hay! No black tea or nap today and I was feeling just dandy!

Thursday:

Another early morning shift. 7:30 was the death of me. After how well yesterday went, today was a completely different situation. I was very tired, dragging my legs as I was walking to work. The shift went slowly, and I found myself getting tired in my class. I was done around 1:30 and had nothing to do for the rest of the day until 6:00, so I took a long nap, around three hours long. When I woke up, I felt like a whole new human. The nap was much needed, and I was good for the rest of the night.

Friday:

I woke up around 11:30. It was the start of a great, long, lazy day, and even better weekend. A laid-back day, which ended up in really doing nothing but hanging out with friends, and watching many episodes on Netflix. I stayed up for a while to wait for my friends to come home and went to bed around 1:00.

Saturday:

Much like Friday, I woke up around noon and had a meeting. I had another meeting around 2:00, and I left for Spokane around 4:00. When I got to Spokane, I got an iced black tea for a little pick-me-up. It wasn’t too busy of a day, and we got home around midnight. In the car ride back, I did take a 5-minute snooze, which put me up until at least 4:00 in the morning, which was very unexpected.

Sunday:

The last day of my coffee cleanse!! I was thrilled to be back to drinking coffee the next day. I was feeling pretty good though, I had slept until noon once again, and then proceeded to watch Netflix episodes for the majority of my evening. I got some homework done and was ready for bed around 11:00.

So, what did this week teach me? It taught me that I could go a week without coffee and that I do have time for naps. Although life seems to be flying by, it is okay to take some time out of the day to nap and regenerate some energy. Did I feel healthier, no. Actually I really just felt tired. Would I do it again? Not in a million years, but it was a good experience overall.