MrSilver

I love soda. I drink 2-3 cans a day, usually starting right after breakfast. It helps my energy and it tastes great. Also, if I don't have any I get a nasty headace. However I have been reading about sleep problems this morning. For years I have had trouble getting on a normal sleep schedule. This was in part due to working two jobs while being in college, but more so because I was working strange and inconsistant hours. Now that I have quit drinking, I want to get on to the next step of healthy living. Having a good sleep pattern would be a very good step. I have struggled to maintain a pattern of going to bed at night and getting up in the morning. I often stay up very late (5am or later) and sometimes as late as mid afternoon the next day. There was a strech in july of about 2 weeks where I was going to bed between noon and 3pm and waking up between 10pm and 2am. It was terrible. OK I am going on and on....time to get to the point. What advice would you have to someone who is addicted to caffeine but wants to reduce the intake to help with sleep patters, and get fewer unhealthy soda pop drinks in their system each day. Note, I hate coffee.

Thanks!

Aeon

I sorta went through something similar battling soda in the morning to wake up. My first order of business was to slam some Pepsi or Mountain Dew and the world remained fuzzy until I did so. To my suprise, I found that chugging some orange juice produced the same effect - the tanginess, the freshness, the acidity, the liquidy goodness; it woke me up!

As far as caffeine dependency to carry you through the day, that's a tough one. I quit soda and went to coffee lol. Maybe I just made it worse, but soda is caustic to the teeth and stomach lining and some even say it rots your brain. The thing with coffee is that it doesn't really taste good, so I have found it easier to moderate. I put cool whip, vanilla extract, or ice cream in it to make it more tolerable to the palate.
Just a thought..

CarolD

I gave up Diet Cokes and was surprised ...
6 weeks later...I had lost 14 lbs. and had made no other changes...

I've always had odd sleeping patterns...usually I sleep 4 or 5 hours ..wake naturally ...rareing to go.
I often take a nap later...normally an hour is sufficient
Yes that is not considered healthy...but I am 75 so it's not harmed me yet that I am aware of.
BTW I detest sleeping....always have...

Please see if this link is useful for you

http://www.well.com/user/mick/insomnia/

Glad to know you are continueing to be sober...

Scolova

My 'usual' sleep time over the years had started to become - whenever and where ever I drank enough alcohol to pass-out. :-\ ... I notice from my beer (& soda) drinking I was burping up enough gas everyday to fill a blimp. I like to drink tea during the day now (there are many different flavors), but 'I' really have to OD on caffeine for it (alone) to interrupt my sleep. Oh and I was a truck driver quite a few years back and I know about those crazy hours.

sugarbear1

They use sodas to clean off battery acid...try gentle teas...green tea, etc...

ElvisInASkirt

I love soda. I drink about 10 cans of it a day. Usually the diet stuff. Sometimes I go the Dr. Pepper route.

My sleep patterns are a bit wacky though. I tend to sleep 6-10pm and then 2am-6am and that's fine for me.

Normal sleeping times are over rated. You can place far too much emphasis on getting the perfect nights sleep. I don't think it exists. It's all about feeling rested and being ready for a new day. Some days will be better than others but things will be as they are.

MrSilver

Be real careful Elvis. If you are drinking even half that you have a much higher chance of becoming a diabetic. I was reading online the other day that as much as 2 cans of soda a week can double your chances of cancer.

Ghostly

It's not just the caffeine in soda that causes sleep problems...it's the sugar. Diet is no better. Congrats on wanting to cut back. Yes, there are MANY worse things than soda people consume, still soda is just sugar water and is not good for you.

Most people I listen to think caffeine is ok, as long as it's consumed in moderation. What each person can handle is individual. If it is causing sleep problems then it is too much. Coffee is fine to drink, and I wish I could stand it. A lot of people get headaches when they quit that last a few days. After it is out of their system, I have heard / read from a lot of people that function better and without the crashes.

Sleeping patterns and times are underrated. We were meant to get a certain amount of sleep, and get it at night. That's how it was for thousands of years. Not until relatively recently did this start to change. That said, I'm not saying it is possible for everyone to get 8 hours of sleep a night. I work nights, and am up late, and consider myself a night person. I also admit this is probably not optimal for me, so I do what I can to get good sleep and make other healthy decisions elsewhere.

I think the most important things about sleep are to sleep till you can wake up refreshed. Sleep in the darkest environment possible. There are many interesting books about sleep and what humans were meant to have.

Anyway...I could go on and on. Again, congrats on wanting to quit. Good luck. Everything in this post was IMHO.

Tanman

I find myself doing the same thing, i work 4:30p till 1a. I know it is a horrible shift. Im not much of a coffee drinker. I worry about things like this, but then after really thinking about it, i rationalize that its ok, my main focus is to stay sober from drugs and alcohol. After i get a substantial amount of clean time. I would like to make other changes. But i realize i cant make all these changes in one day lol.

caesar

I love soda. I've wished many times that I could somehow give it up. I believe that would be the hardest amenity that I partake of to part ways with. Lately i've been on a "Barq's Rootbeer" kick. Good, good stuff! It's one of the few Rootbeers that you will find that does have caffeine!!!! Yeah boy!

least

I rarely drink soda so don't have a problem with it, but did have to limit myself to only one cup of coffee in the morning as it was making me too anxious and I would be more concerned about the sugar in soda than the caffeine tho. Soda is loaded with sugar.