1. Erin Bosman 1
Twenty-Eight Days and Caffeine
Abstinence is the act of refraining from something. Caffeine, xanthine, is a
psychoactive drug. Psychoactive drugs cross the blood- brain barrier and create changes
in central nervous system functioning. In terms of caffeine, concentration and
wakefulness are often affected. Psychoactive drugs are consumed for personal enjoyment,
health benefits, increased focus, and various other reasons. I personally consume
caffeine, mainly for enjoyment and occasionally for increased energy. In this project, I
had planned to refrain from caffeine for twenty-eight days, the month of February. I have
been drinking coffee since I was three years old, my grandmother had small mugs that
she would give us filled with approximately three tablespoons of coffee, ¼ cup of milk,
and a couple sugar cubes. The amount of coffee increased greatly over the years and I
now consume caffeine in the form of coffee, tea, or chocolate often.
I only lasted five days abstaining from caffeine before giving in at an airport in
Norway. After having spent the previous night in an airport in London and then flying to
Norway with very little sleep, I felt that I needed a stimulant to make it through the day.
Caffeine blocks the neurotransmitter adenosine and results in dopamine to work more
effectively. After that, I no longer abstained from caffeine. Caffeine is definitely
addictive. I know that if I had really wanted and was not traveling and studying
simultaneously, I could easily consume even less of it or completely abstain.
However, I did consume significantly less than I do when at home in the United
States, which I believe did allow me to experience some of the symptoms associated with
withdrawal from Caffeine. Results that I found were that I was less focused than I usually
tend to be and took long naps nearly every day. During the month of February, I

2. Erin Bosman 2
consumed caffeine twenty of the twenty- eight days. The first five days I managed to
abstain completely and then I also did not consume caffeine on a few random days. I
tracked the days I consumed caffeine, the level of craving I had, and then how many
times I consumed, how many times I wanted, and how much I saved on chocolate, tea,
coffee, and pain medicine.
Within the first five days where I fully abstained from Caffeine, I had fairly high
levels of cravings at first and then had lower level cravings on the fifth day. I had
adjusted to not having caffeine and was fairly distracted with schoolwork and travel.
After a couple days, my level of craving slowly went back up and then bounced around
between a medium level and high level of craving.
The form of caffeine that I both wanted and consumed the most during this time
was coffee. I saved about fifteen pounds on coffee when on trips and day trips; if I had
fully abstained I would have saved a little more. I mostly drank coffee from the Refectory
at mealtimes, some days I had coffee twice. On average I would say I consume three
containers of coffee a day, each ranging between twelve and sixteen ounces, when in the
states. Although I consumed less of chocolate and tea, they were offered to me various
times, and many of those were offers from my meet a family. I did not want to be rude
and therefor accepted their multiple offers.
I enjoy the taste of all of these things and that is why I generally consume them
rather than for the effects. Prior to this project, I had not fully realized the effects caffeine
has on my concentration and level of wakefulness. I think that this is partially due to the
fact that I started consuming caffeine when I was young and grew a tolerance to the
effects that caffeine has. This is also potentially why I consume so much caffeine when I

3. Erin Bosman 3
am in the United States. I’ve also noticed how prevalent caffeine is, with caffeine
available on almost every street in gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, vending
machines, and candy stores among other places. Throughout this project, I became more
aware of how present caffeine is in society and how it affects my behavior.
Date
Level
of
Craving
Days
Consumed
1
Medium
No
2
High
No
3
High
No
4
High
No
5
Low
No
6
Low
Yes
7
Medium
No
8
Low
Yes
9
High
No
10
High
Yes
11
Medium
Yes
12
High
No
13
Medium
Yes
14
Medium
Yes
15
Medium
Yes
16
Medium
Yes
17
High
Yes
18
Low
Yes
19
High
Yes
20
Medium
Yes
21
High
Yes
22
High
Yes
23
High
Yes
24
Medium
Yes
25
High
Yes
26
Medium
Yes
27
Medium
Yes
28
Medium
Yes

4. Erin Bosman 4
10
4
18
1
15
9
28
1
5
15
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Chocolate
Tea
Coffee
Pain
Medicine
Consumed
Wanted
Money
Saved