JEDDAH: On fasting days, people say that the most difficult part of refraining from eating and drinking is not having their daily cup of coffee. Here, experts share their opinion on how to deal with the effects of withdrawal during the holy month.

Dr. Rowaidah Idris, a nutritionist, discussed with Arab News the symptoms and how to manage them.

“Coffee acts as a stimulant in the body and not consuming it can lead to feelings of anxiety, tiredness and drowsiness,” she said.

Caffeine also boosts concentration by increasing levels of certain neurotransmitters and hormones so quitting and cutting back on it can cause difficulty focusing on a specific task.

Idris said that the ideal situation was to start reducing caffeine intake a month before Ramadan. “However if you haven’t done that, drinking enough water between iftar time and sahoor, good-quality sleep, reducing sugar intake and avoiding fatty meals can help greatly.”

Anjali Chawla, a 35-year-old nutritionist, also had an interesting take on how to deal with the symptoms. She told Arab News: “Exercise is key while you are cutting back on caffeine, a sweaty workout releases adrenaline just like coffee does and will leave you feeling alert.”

Deep breathing is also a technique Chawla recommends to her clients as that helps with caffeine withdrawal. “Deep breathing allows your muscles to relax and that helps with battling with irritability.”

Some nutritionists advise having coffee during or right after iftar. Chawla said: “Having coffee later in the night or during sahoor will drag you with insomnia and dehydration that will be challenging during the fast.”

Both nutritionists suggested that not just for Ramadan but in the coming months people should practice cutting back on caffeine as too much of it can cause a variety of side-effects — both mental and physical.

Amirah Khalid, a 20-year-old student and an avid coffee drinker, shared her own experience with Arab News. “As I started drinking more and more coffee, Ramadan started to be more difficult; last Ramadan I couldn’t focus on anything because of the severe headaches,” she said.

To avoid last year’s experience, this Ramadan Khalid began to limit her coffee intake a few days before Ramadan, replacing one of her cups of coffee with tea.

“I still have coffee right after iftar but it isn’t as bad as before . . . as much as I love coffee I realized that I needed to cut back as it was making my performance worse at university too.”