Reviewed by Dr Andre Budihardjo, MM and Physician Brandon Yew

Ways to Get Rid of a Caffeine Addiction

Published February 3, 2023| 6 min read

Looking to quit your caffeine addiction? Addressing it with natural remedies may help you kick the craving.

Woman looking regretful as she is about to pour coffee into a tumbler while holding her left fist to her head.

Are you sipping on a cup of coffee while reading this? And do you take more than two cups of it daily in order to feel like you can function? You may have a caffeine addiction and not realise it.

Normally, coffee, tea, soda, or sports beverages are relatively safe to drink and may even provide health benefits. These include:

Healthier liver enzyme levels
Decreasing breakage of DNA strands in the body. Strong DNA strands reduce the risk of cancer
Helping prevent stroke or Alzheimer’s disease

Helping prevent or suppress the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Helping prevent diabetes, kidney disease, and coronary heart disease

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) states that caffeine use can help boost energy levels, increase productivity, and uplift mood by addressing a Qi (vital life force) Deficiency. Over time, however, a tolerance to the stimulant can develop. Consequently, you’ll require higher amounts of caffeine to attain the same psychological effects, triggering a caffeine addiction.

Steps That’ll Help You Kick a Caffeine Addiction for Good

Woman staring into space as she holds bunches of her hair with both hands while sitting at a desk. — An unsatisfied craving for caffeine may result in you losing focus, especially at work.

From TCM’s point of view, if you have an addiction, you’ll always seek external stimuli to satisfy a craving. It’s also possible you’re looking to fill a physical, mental, or emotional void caused by specific body constitution imbalances.

“Addiction can happen when endogenic pathogens are present in a person’s body. These include Cold, Fire, Phlegm, Dampness, Qi Stagnation, blood clots, and fluids retention.”

Real Health Medical Senior Physician Brandon Yew

Blood, Qi, and Yin (body fluids and passive energy) and Yang (warming and active energy) Deficiencies within the Heart, Liver, Spleen, Kidneys, and Lungs also contribute to the likelihood of addiction.

Addressing the root causes of a dependency or an addiction help treat either problem holistically. If you decide to quit caffeine cold turkey, you may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as:

Fatigue
Nausea
Irritability
Headaches
Muscle aches

Difficulty concentrating

These symptoms can start within 12 to 24 hours after your last caffeine intake, and last for up to two to nine days.

Go cold turkey

You don’t have to face this alone. Try taking these steps and speaking to people around you:

Inform colleagues, family members and managers about your caffeine detox

Ensure that the first two days of the detox period fall on a weekend
Avoid driving
Have pain relievers on standby
Stock up on food and prepare your meals in advance

Wean off the stimulant gradually

Reducing your caffeine intake slowly is an ideal alternative to going cold turkey and enables you to manage withdrawal symptoms better.

Coffee and energy drinks should be reduced by a quarter every two to three days. Cut back by half a can of soda or half a cup of tea within the same period.

Use herbal medication and ingredients

Black garlic cloves — Add black garlic to dishes to improve cellular ageing and fight oxidative stress.

To regulate internal imbalances and keep withdrawal symptoms at bay, Physician Brandon recommends using these herbs:

Cordyceps (dong chong xia cao, 冬虫夏草): Boosts Lungs and Kidneys, improves breathing to reduce fatigue

Honey (feng mi, 蜂蜜): Boosts immunity, eases gastric discomfort
Lingzhi (灵芝): Strengthens Lungs to promote better breathing and reduce fatigue, nourishes and calms the Heart to improve quality of sleep
American ginseng (xi yang shen, 西洋参): Replenishes energy and fluids to relieve fatigue and clear body heat
Black garlic (hei suan, 黑蒜): Warms the stomach to promote digestion, improves qi flow to ease distention, neutralises toxins

Other formulas he recommends are:

Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (补中益气汤) and Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (当归补血汤): Regenerates Spleen qi and Liver blood
Xiao Yao San (逍遥散): Soothes Liver and increases overall energy, strengthens Spleen qi to remove Dampness, and regenerates blood to nourish the Liver
Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San (丹栀逍遥散): Soothes the Liver to break down blood clots and regenerates blood to nourish the Liver

A herbal tonic that combines essence of chicken and ginkgo biloba extract, too, may help you stay alert throughout the day.

Stimulate acupressure points through massage

Bai Hui — Bai hui is located at the uppermost point on the human body, in the centre of the top of the head.

guan yuan — Located along the midline of the lower abdomen, 4 fingers-breadth below the navel. It dispels pathogens for improved qi and blood circulation within the lower abdominal cavity and revitalises Kidneys’ yang energy.

Located along the midline of the lower abdomen, 2 fingers-breadth below the navel. It dispels pathogens for improved qi and blood circulation within the lower abdominal cavity and revitalises kidneys' yang energy. — Located along the midline of the lower abdomen, 2 fingers-breadth below the navel. It dispels pathogens for improved qi and blood circulation within the lower abdominal cavity and revitalises kidneys’ yang energy.

Stimulation of the Zu San Li acupoint can help manage the symptoms of social anxiety.

Feng long — Located on the shin, eight fingers-breadth below the depression of the knee joint, two fingers-breadth from the anterior crest of the shin. It dispels pathogens to improve qi and fluid circulation within the meridians and strengthens the stomach’s function.

TAI YANG — Tai yang (EX-HN5) is located in the region of the temples, in the depression about one finger-breadth posterior to the midpoint between the lateral end of the eyebrow and the outer canthus.

An illustration of feng chi as one of the acupressure points to heal symptoms of cold — Feng chi is located at the back of the neck, where you can feel a depression on the base of the hairline as shown above.

3D illustration of the tai xi acupressure point — Located on the tibial aspect of the leg, posterior to the medial border of the tibia, three finger widths inferior to the yin ling quan acupoint.

You may relieve withdrawal symptoms by activating specific acupressure points on the body. Examples of these are:

Bai hui (DU20, 百会): Encourages blood and qi circulation for improved alertness, cognition and mood
Guan yuan (RN4, 关元) and qi hai (RN6, 气海): Revitalises Kidney qi and yang

Zu san li (ST36, 足三里) and feng long (ST40, 丰隆): Strengthens Stomach qi
Tai yang (EX-HN5, 太阳) and feng chi (GB20, 风池): Restores and enhances localised blood and qi circulation for improved alertness, cognition and mood
Tai xi (KI3, 太溪): Revitalises the Kidneys

Any dependency, including a caffeine addiction, should be treated thoroughly. You must be fully committed to detox, especially if you intend to go cold turkey. The good news? Alternative remedies like herbal medication and acupressure massages can help you with withdrawals.

You should speak to a licensed TCM practitioner before considering these options instead of self-medicating without guidance.

If you’re looking to kick a caffeine addiction and you found this article helpful, share your experience with us in the comments below.