Can You Meditate After Drinking Coffee?

Starting out with meditation and retaining the focus isn’t the easiest thing to do for everyone. While for some it comes naturally, others practice their focus and get better over time with meditation, as it’s one of the core areas meditation is there to improve. 

Due to the fact that meditation can be hard to get into for some, would it be a good idea to combine meditation with something external to get started? The more you can meditate without relying on anything external, the more real and deep the experience is gonna feel. 

But that depends, there are some exceptions where it might not be such a bad idea to meditate in combination with something else. 

In this case, when it comes to coffee. Should you meditate after you’ve had some coffee? Depending on who you ask, the answer to this is gonna vary, but in my experience coffee and meditation could be a positive combination if it gets you going. 

And for this occasion, I’ll explain why that is, and if you’re an avid coffee drinker, how you can use that to the benefit of your meditation practice.

Coffee Can Make You Focused

Sometimes you need that extra focus when you’re getting started. If you’ve tried to meditate before but find it hard to keep yourself concentrated, feel free to experience meditation with coffee. 

Coffee is meant to make you hyper aware, but so is meditation. It’s so easy for the mind to wander into different things, especially for novices, and that’s a big culprit for giving up too early on the practice. 

Many feel like they need coffee in their day to day life in order to function, and while that dependency is negative, you can use it to start the practice with meditation, until you’re able to become self-sufficient with the practice. 

However, you may feel like you want to combine meditation and caffeine in the long-term, because it’s the only way you can meditate while being at peace. 

There’s some disadvantages to that which I’ll explain shortly, but depending on who you are, caffeine may give you that focus you were trying to retain while meditating. 

But because retaining focus isn’t the easiest, you may want to stay clear from “over meditating” right from the start. 

Overtime, you can increase this time, whether it be with the help of coffee or without, but do get used to the sensations of meditation. That way, you’ll be able to replicate those sensations for your future meditations, thus making you more eager to continue with the practice. 

The more you welcome meditation with open arms, the less of a chore it will be. Perhaps coffee is what you need so you can remain deeply concentrated throughout the practice. Meditation should never feel like a chore, the moment it feels like a chore, you’re forcing yourself and it defeats the purpose of the practice. 

That’s one of the major benefits of coffee, helping you build consistency with the practice and making your perspective on meditation positive as a whole. 

The Downsides Of Using Coffee With Meditation

Earlier I did a brief mention of individuals that use coffee and feel like they can’t operate their day to day without it. 

That can backfire when it’s combined with meditation, since if you get used to meditating with coffee over the long-term, you may feel like you are only able to do meditation with coffee. 

True deep meditation shouldn’t require any external substance for the experience to make you feel the life-changing effects of it. However, this will generally only be a problem if you get used to meditating with coffee over the long haul. 

Coffee is a fantastic drink to give you the push you need to start with meditation and build that momentum, but your objective should be to be able to do it without needing coffee. 

However, one thing is certain and obvious, relying on coffee instead of alcohol for meditation is much better. I’d recommend people stay completely clear of alcohol before meditating.

Another disadvantage of coffee is that because it can make you hyper aware and focused, it can defeat the purpose of the calmness meditation is supposed to give you. You may not feel that deep level of peace you would’ve otherwise felt without it. 

What’s worse, you may not notice it because you’ve gotten used to meditation being a certain way because all the meditations you’ve done thus far, have been with the assistance of the drink.

Who Should Stay Away From Coffee While Meditating?

If you’re currently on a decaffeination journey, you’ll want to stay away from caffeine. Otherwise you risk getting yourself attached to it when your entire goal is to start meditating. 

The advice of using coffee and meditation is more tailored for the average individual drinking coffee on a daily basis. 

But if you don’t mind the coffee and you’re willing to experience it, and you know for sure it’s not gonna affect you, you can use coffee to begin your journey. 

However, coffee can be a craving many want to get rid of, and thus, because they know that meditation helps with detachment, they use the practice to get rid of the habit completely. 

However, it’s not uncommon to see a coffee drinker that gets going with meditation and later on becomes independent.

If Not Coffee… What Else To Keep That Focus?

Coffee is just one of the drinks that can boost your concentration while meditating. But if you want to completely get rid of coffee in your life, and you’re on a decaf journey, but still want the focus you need for meditation, green tea is an alternative. 

Of course, it’s not ideal to be addicted to tea for meditation over the long haul, but there are some that won’t touch coffee with a ten-foot pole, and in those cases, green tea can be the alternative to coffee they need. 

You are, however, capable of getting started without any external substance and still retain that meditation throughout the entire journey on your own. 

But that requires discipline, and sometimes even trying different meditations to find one you’ll stick with. 

All in all, for the average person, I would recommend trying coffee or green tea if they’re having issues keeping their focus on meditation. Some use coffee or tea throughout their entire meditation journey and it works great for them, and that’s something worth acknowledging, because they still experience life-changing benefits to their meditation. 

So using meditation with coffee or tea, doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive at all for some. The only thing to keep in mind is the dependency you get from those drinks and that you could become less reliant on yourself to feel capable of meditating.