Alternatives to coffee

Are you one of those people who resembles a zombie when they wake up until they have successfully made it through their first cup of coffee? There are plenty of you out there so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you are. Debates are ongoing as to the desirable levels of caffeine to consume and that scares people when they reach for that second, third or fourth cup of coffee. Well if that’s you then there are other things you could try in order to get up and stay awake throughout your busy day. 

Modern technologies have significantly decreased the time between you waking up and having that first cup of coffee. Provided you have a coffee machine with the appropriate capabilities the process can be as simple as rolling out of bed and pressing a button once you find your way to the kitchen. The point is you don’t even have the time to try anything else. You’d be surprised what you can achieve just through movement and exercise. Most people who rely on a cup of coffee don’t retain their zombie status for the whole day if they miss their morning cuppa. If they are in a rush and miss it they just wake up naturally and still find the energy to go about their day. The process of just getting up and moving helps to wake you up in itself.

Nobody views coffee as the well-rounded breakfast you need to sustain you throughout the morning. We don’t kid ourselves. We know that coffee is like that shot of tequila to fill you with energy at the start of the day and you let your diet take care of the rest. There is no one breakfast that is more desirable than the rest but there are plenty that you should probably look to avoid. The goal is to stay as full as you can for as long as you can and that means avoiding any sort of food that is going to cause a spike in insulin. Simply put, whole grain cereals and porridge (or oatmeal if you are reading this in America) are always a safe option. Of course, if you are looking for that quick boost in energy then fruit can be the perfect accompaniment to your cereal, just to provide you with that bit of sugar to help start you off.

Why do most people turn to coffee as their saviour in the morning? Because they are compensating for a poor night of sleep. So what’s the best alternative to coffee? Try and optimise your rest so that you aren’t relying on it in the morning. When it comes to rest the most sensible advice is to try and get at least eight hours and, assuming you work a fairly normal day, try and get down before midnight. Of course circumstances might dictate that isn’t possible but you can tailor it around your own personal situation if needs be.

I enjoy a cup of coffee and there doesn’t appear to be any significant scientific evidence on either side of this debate. So if you are just having the one cup of coffee in the morning and one again around lunchtime then I wouldn’t be too concerned. But there will be some of you I’m sure that start to feel guilty by the time you get to cup number four and five. So if you want to cut down there are plenty of alternative methods of staying alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic throughout the entire day.