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Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

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Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#1

Post by Lorenzo45 »

I'm a 19 year-old iOS developer and just starting to get a taste of the 'work grind'. I've been trying to minimize my caffeine intake to avoid building a tolerance and dependency on caffeine, and instead try to get a good night's sleep and nap whenever I need to and can. However, I've noticed that many of my coworkers at my internship consume multiple cups of coffee daily, and recently read the Stackoverflow 2015 survey that said programmers drink an average of 2.75 cups of coffee a day.

I'm starting to wonder if avoiding caffeine or just letting myself become a regular coffee drinker is better for my productivity in the long run. I have noticed that coffee does give me a slight productivity boost, but I'm not sure if it's worth the tradeoff of becoming dependent on it.

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#2

Post by davismwfl »

If you haven't started it yet, I say don't. I am effectively addicted to caffeine and while it has its purposes it isn't a good think. In the past, every few months I'd stop drinking all caffeine for 1-2 months then I'd slowly wind up starting to drink it again. I haven't done this in the past year, which has sucked.

You can be highly functional and productive without caffeine. Taking a nap and getting better sleep is far better then being addicted to coffee or pop.

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#4

Post by Lorenzo45 »

davismwfl wrote: post #2

If you haven't started it yet, I say don't. I am effectively addicted to caffeine and while it has its purposes it isn't a good think. In the past, every few months I'd stop drinking all caffeine for 1-2 months then I'd slowly wind up starting to drink it again. I haven't done this in the past year, which has sucked. You can be highly functional and productive without caffeine. Taking a nap and getting better sleep i…

Thanks for your insight, this was kind of what I was hoping to hear. If you wouldn't mind, could you expand a bit on the negative effects you've experienced due to regularly drinking caffeine, and possibly even some good ones?

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#5

Post by Lorenzo45 »

Bahamut wrote: post #3

I intake a lot of caffeine, but I also do something novel - there are days where I consume no (or very little) caffeine. Caffeine is useful, but I don't like to rely on it.

I've been considering doing something like this as well, how are you able to prevent yourself from becoming dependent on it?

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#7

Post by Bahamut »

Lorenzo45 wrote: post #5
Bahamut wrote: post #3

I intake a lot of caffeine, but I also do something novel - there are days where I consume no (or very little) caffeine. Caffeine is useful, but I don't like to rely on it.

I've been considering doing something like this as well, how are you able to prevent yourself from becoming dependent on it?

Being addicted to anything is simply something I dislike strongly - I have learned to control addictions by simply taking control of doing only what I want to do.

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#8

Post by partisan »

I usually drink a couple of cups of green or black tea per day, usually with honey. At some point, when I was in the office, I was drinking up to 4 cups of tea per day. I was miserable at work, tired for other reasons, and felt like I needed it. I was probably pretty dependent on it at that time.

I understand very well how you might end up drinking a lot caffeinated beverages, but I wonder if you can have a placebo effect by drinking water and taking a quick walk outside instead?

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#9

Post by delbel »

I recently went 60 days without coffee and had only one cup of tea or chai a day. Basically my productivity went down. Then one day, out of desperation to get work done, drank a single cup of strong coffee and subsequently had mild insomnia that night, but, my productivity levels went up. I really enjoyed the coffee so I went out and bought some very light trader joe's beans and some decaf. I mix the two. I don't have sleep problems and enjoy my coffee in the morning. I try to not drink coffee on Sunday but I find I have a cup right now while getting some client work done.

Re: Ask HN: What's better for long-run productivity: caffeine or no caffeine?

#10

Post by Lorenzo45 »

partisan wrote: post #8

I usually drink a couple of cups of green or black tea per day, usually with honey. At some point, when I was in the office, I was drinking up to 4 cups of tea per day. I was miserable at work, tired for other reasons, and felt like I needed it. I was probably pretty dependent on it at that time. I understand very well how you might end up drinking a lot caffeinated beverages, but I wonder if you can have a placebo e…

Yes tea is a good option, I've done a bit of reading on L-Theanine and tried some caffeine pills paired with L-Theanine with fairly good results. Supposedly it negates the negative effects of caffeine and you don't build a tolerance to it, but I'm not entirely convinced.

I really like your water and exercise idea though, that would certainly be a nice substitute!

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