Habit swap
Tired at 3pm, so another coffee. But mild dehydration makes you feel tired too, and coffee will not fix that.
Drop
Caffeine
Over 400 mg a day, or coffee too close to bed, costs you sleep you never notice losing.
How to quitBuild
Water
Count your glasses and keep a steady water habit through the day.
How to build itThe verdict: Keep your morning coffee. Swap the extra ones for water: it fixes the tiredness that comes from not drinking enough, without costing you sleep.
Side by side
What it costs
One 16 oz energy drink can hold anywhere from 54 to 328 mg of caffeine. Two of the strong ones pass the daily limit.
Source: FDADuring pregnancy the advice is no more than 200 mg a day, because high intake is linked to miscarriage and low birth weight.
Source: NHSWhat you gain
Even mild dehydration lowered mood, increased fatigue and caused headaches in a controlled study, and made tasks feel harder.
Source: J Nutrition, Armstrong et al. 2012People who normally drank little and raised their intake had significantly less fatigue and confusion within three days.
Source: PLOS ONE, Pross et al. 2014Caffeine 6 hours before bed cut sleep by more than an hour without people noticing. Water has no such cost.
Source: AASMThe swap
Add a Yes / No habit called "No caffeine after 2pm", every day, with a reminder at 14:00.
Add "Drink water" as a Count habit: 8 glasses, every day.
Before every coffee after your first, drink a full glass of water and wait 10 minutes. Often you will not want the coffee.
Check in on both each night. Two streaks, one swap: every day you stay clear is also a day you did something better.
FAQ
Not in the same way. Caffeine is a stimulant; water is not. But if your tiredness comes partly from not drinking enough, water fixes the cause instead of masking it.
Normal amounts of coffee count towards your fluid intake. The problem is coffee replacing water, not coffee draining it.
A short walk. In one study, 10 minutes of walking up stairs made people feel more energetic than a small dose of caffeine.
General information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your health, talk to a doctor.
Drop
Smoking
Build
Walking
A 10 to 15 minute walk takes the edge off a cigarette craving, and the effect can last up to 50 minutes.
Drop
Sugary drinks
Build
Water
Swapping one daily soft drink for water is linked to a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Drop
Phone in bed
Build
Journaling
Writing a 5-minute to-do list at bedtime helped people fall asleep about 9 minutes faster.
Drop one, build one, and check in on both each night.
