When you're a heavy drinker of caffeine, it shouldn't come as a surprise that you experience hardships during Ramadan. After all, you must've gotten used to it by now after all these years.
The question that bothers your caffeine-addicted brain is how to mitigate the symptoms. You hate being that sleep-deprived, grumpy person in the morning and the coffee junky in the evening every Ramadan, which is counter-intuitive considering the cheerful nature of the holy month.
So, how can we deal with the minor nightmare that is caffeine withdrawal symptoms during Ramadan?
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Part of what Ramadan teaches us is self-control, will-power, and persistence. In other words, feeling uneasy about your caffeine habit being interrupted by the holy month is part of the package.
Instead of looking at it as a negative thing, make your caffeine craving a necessary evil that you need to overcome. This means you should develop the will-power to choose not to be bothered by caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
The spirit needs no coffee or Red Bull to feel alive and embrace the grace of God. We often forget that entertaining bad habits, with our thoughts and emotions, is actually what makes them have power.
Ramadan teaches us to overcome our lower-self urges so that we can appreciate the divine.
And when the sun is down and the Adhan is declared, there's nothing wrong with indulging yourself with a hot cup of coffee.
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Actually, while we're at it, this Ramadan might be your time to think about not consuming too much coffee or even quitting the thing for good.
While coffee isn't that bad of a stimulant, some people are overdoing it, you might be one.
If you crave coffee and feel like it makes you stressed or perhaps hurts you somehow but you can't quit, Ramadan is your opportunity to consider turning the page.
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Tea is good! It doesn't have a lot of caffeine and it's healthier for your skin and stomach. Decaffeinated coffee might also be an option on the table, but we all know that the best drink you can have is a glass of water after a long day of not doing so.
Juices are probably the royal treatment – and I'm not talking about adding sugar to them; the moment you add sugar to juice it drops from the rank of royalty to something very lower.
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If you feel very irritable due to craving sugar and caffeine during Ramadan, something that throws you into a chain of events that always end up in wrath, confusion, and regret, you might want to reconsider your thinking patterns and impulses.
Be mindful of your mind-body connection whenever you get those cravings. This is basically just a restatement of what I've already said: Ramadan is the month of spiritual growth and discipline.
You're supposed to train your power to will and your will to power, thus having strong will-power.
When you intend to fast for Ramadan and stay up late to pray and get closer to God, you surrender your will to him, and God rewards you with strength.
Displaying anger, irritability, and moodiness just because you didn't have your 5 cups of coffee isn't Ramadan personality at all. You should be above that.
That's why fostering good habits such as eating healthy and doing high-intensity training during Ramadan is something you should strive for.
Nothing tastes better than healthy food on an empty stomach after training in the gym before the Adhan of Maghreb.
If you're thinking this is impossible, you really should stop putting limits on your God-bestowed body and mind that HE didn't put there. (Of course, if you're not terminally ill!)
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