Did cutting back on caffeine lower your blood pressure?
A few months ago I started getting blood pressure readings that were higher than what I was used to and my doctor was basically like Hey we need to talk about this. Nothing ER level scary but enough that I couldn't just brush it off anymore. At the time I was drinking a embarrassing amount of caffeine. Coffee in the morning, another coffee or an energy drink in the afternoon and water was something I technically knew existed but wasn't really incorporating into my day. Hydration was not my thing.
The wild part is I didn't even think the caffeine was the issue. I'd been drinking it for years and had fully convinced myself my body had just adapted to it. Built different caffeine doesn't affect me etc. Except I was also dealing with a racing heart, terrible sleep, constant stress and that very specific feeling of being completely exhausted but also weirdly wired at the same time. Those two things can coexist and it's awful. Instead of going cold turkey and making myself miserable, I just slowly started pulling back. I swapped some of my morning coffee for oolong tea, started drinking water throughout the day like a hydrated adult and in the evenings switched to herbal teas instead of reaching for yet another caffeinated thing.
I also started taking daily walks and cooking at home more, so I want to be honest that it wasn't one single thing that fixed it but after a few weeks, I noticed a difference. I felt calmer, started sleeping better and my blood pressure readings improved in a way that surprised me.