I do one reasonably weak cup with lots of creamer first thing in the morning with breakfast. Then, on a normal day, I have mostly water. This solves two problems for me: (1) by the end of my typical day, enough caffeine has flushed back out of my system that I have no issues falling asleep, but also (b) I'm maintaining a tolerance, so if I'm out with friends I can have a glass of whatever and not totally wreck my system doing so.
I've considered ditching the coffee entirely; it's mostly the routine I enjoy, and I could probably replace it with an herbal tea. My system on an actual energy drink is just as jittery and anxious as the author describes. But for now, keeping my intake low seems okay.
The biggest surprise for me was really switching to plain water as my beverage of choice. Growing up on sugary beverages I craved them something fierce; now I actually crave water, and enjoy the taste. The only downside is that at restaurants, the servers will swing by and refill an ordered soda (or tea) endlessly, and they get this funny look if I try to explain that "no really, just one is enough."
I've considered ditching the coffee entirely; it's mostly the routine I enjoy, and I could probably replace it with an herbal tea. My system on an actual energy drink is just as jittery and anxious as the author describes. But for now, keeping my intake low seems okay.
The biggest surprise for me was really switching to plain water as my beverage of choice. Growing up on sugary beverages I craved them something fierce; now I actually crave water, and enjoy the taste. The only downside is that at restaurants, the servers will swing by and refill an ordered soda (or tea) endlessly, and they get this funny look if I try to explain that "no really, just one is enough."