Only option for me at my workplace is either coffee (undrinkably bitter) or expired tea (tastes like rot). Did not have enough time yesterday to make myself tea for the next day and the shop where I buy energy drinks is closed. I extremely drownsy and my head hurts.
EDIT: Coffee is undrinkable to me, quality or not. The bitterness will just overpower everything.
In the long run, weaning yourself off caffeine and getting enough sleep will make you healthier overall.
Short term?
-Keep hydrated. This one is key.
-Take an OTC painkiller for the headache.
-Splash your face with really cold water a few times and go for a brisk walk during a break/lunch period (when I was in office my lunches were pretty small/quick to eat to maximize doing-anything-else time, YMMV).
-Depends on your working environment, but if you have the ability to do at least some of your work standing, stand.
-If you’re crazy drowsy and just need some means to stay conscious until clock out, a rubber band on the wrist can help. If you start to space out/feel your eyes start to close, give it a snap. Not the greatest thing, but a little pain can release some useful endogenous chemicals.
-If anyone has little candies in the office, ask if you can take some. The sugar in well-timed doses can help a little.Medium term?
-When you get home, pack up some dried tea/tea bags of acceptable quality, and immediately place it in your ‘going to work’ kit (bag, car, whatever) so you have a stash in case you forget to make a thermos/whatever of tea the following (and subsequent) mornings.
-Go talk to whoever stocks the tea at work and let them know they’ve expired. They may not drink tea themselves, and if no one else has brought it up they may not know/haven’t checked in a while.Long term?
-Ween yourself off of caffeine. Slowly start swapping out your tea stash with herbal teas with no caffeine content (some are quite tasty), and reduce the amount of caffeine you’re inbibing bit by bit until it’s 0.
-Work on adjusting your sleep schedule.Find caffeine pills. No-Doz is a popular one, but the dosage is so high you should only have one in a day.
Time release 100mg pills are your friend, if you don’t take too many.
50mg pills are hard to find, but better replace a cup of coffee.
100mg pills that are not slow release or time release hit hard and crash hard, but spread them several hours apart and cut them off at noon, and it will absolutely get you through a sleepy day.
Have you put sugar in coffee? I’m very sensitive to bitter, and always had to put quite a bit of sugar in to cancel out the bitterness.
Yup. Put some sugar in that OfficeCoffee along with the alleged creamer and power through. Everyone else here seems to be trying to get you off the caffeine but you need it now, today.
Or some flavored creamer like coffeemate. They have those little cups that dont need to be refrigerated so you can bring them to work and drink the work coffee.
Steal away for a quick nap and/or do some light exercise
Buy a pack of Mio energy?
Some over the counter painkiller to get rid of the headache if you can.
Just take a shot of the coffee in the morning to avoid the headache. I don’t know how bitter it has to be for you to prefer a headache over it.
Listen to music, keep your feet moving while working.
Make your own coffee or try caffeine pills. I had to cut back on coffee for a bit due to some stomach issues and the pills work just fine.
I went caffeine free a while ago. The first 7 days were terrible, after 7 days you normalize and are fine.
Caffeine pills also exist. Just be careful to not use too much of it
Others have given some simple suggestions that you should try first, but if this is a recurring issue, you could consider seeking an opinion from a doctor. If you have some untreated, underlying condition holding you back, no amount of healthy living or caffeine is going to improve things in the long run.
For example, it’s possible to develop allergies late in life, which could lead to grogginess and headaches.
I’m backing this one, but if you can rule out a medical angle then I want to mention yerba mate. Brew with a little honey, add ice, and it’s basically coffee-strength Arizona Ice Tea for less than half the price
As the other commenter said, painkillers and hydration will help
You can offset the bitterness of the coffee with milk and sugar. If you’re getting headaches, it’s probably just worth trying to grin and bear the coffee.
Failing that maybe something like Uber eats could do you a grocery delivery to wherever you are with some supplies
For the future, maybe try and drop your consumption a little bit, sounds like you’re probably smashing it a bit, and to avoid a similar scenario perhaps keep some caffeine pills in your bag for emergencies
You can offset the bitterness of coffee with milk and sugar.
Does not work for me for some reason.
Ah, well, I think if I was in your situation, I’d probably just make a strong shot of coffee regardless and have some water ready to chase it with.
Just think of it as medicine, I suppose. That often tastes unpleasant too, but you’re having it for the effect not the taste.
I think I’d literally take anything (safe to consume) if it would get rid of a headache I was experiencing regardless of what it tasted like.
Same. Can’t stand the taste.
Buy some tea bags?
I don’t take caffeine so that I survive the workday.
I take it so that my coworkers survive.
😜
(I only answered with a joke because you’ve already gotten several high-quality responses, otherwise I never would have done that).
