I wake up, I have green tea with my breakfast, that's my first caffeine of the day.

And then I sip coffee while I'm writing in the morning, and that may be why I only write

in the morning, because I'm trying not to drink caffeine in the afternoon.

So I guess I'm a slave to this substance.

Like many people, science writer Michael Pollan, who's my friend, gets through his days with

the help of a morning cup of green tea, followed by a cup of coffee.

But a while back, he decided to do something different, make a change to his routine.

Now, I've been drinking coffee since I was like 10, I got started really early.

So I had not had a period without caffeine in a very long time.

So I went through this withdrawal, and wanted to see what it would be like.

Pollan was in the middle of writing a book about psychoactive substances, including

caffeine.

And that's why he decided to quit cold turkey for three months.

What he really wanted to understand was the grip that a substance like caffeine could

have on him.

I certainly couldn't write for the first few weeks.

I just didn't have a, my mind just didn't focus.

I didn't have this ability to think in a linear way.

I really felt like I've never had ADD attention deficit disorder, but I felt like I had acquired

it.

And then, I felt like I was in the middle of writing, and I felt like I was in the middle

of writing, and I felt like I was in the middle of writing, and I felt like I was in the middle

...