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Caffeine use disorder

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Re: Caffeine use disorder

#11

Post by bryanlarsen »

mcculley wrote: post #8

I weaned myself off of caffeine entirely seven months ago. Being free of caffeine has greatly improved the quality of my sleep and made my mood more even throughout the day. I really appreciate being able to jump straight out of bed in the morning without depending on that coffee to get my brain working.

Benefits of quitting caffeine for me :

- fewer head aches - much better sleep - reduced mid afternoon blahs - easier wake ups - ability to use small amounts of caffeine for medicinal purposes. (by itself or to enhance the effects of other drugs)

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#12

Post by rodionos »

This discussion about coffee has become too scientific. When I was a child, my parents would not let us drink coffee, but tea was not only allowed it was part of daily routine as long as I remember. We didn't question. When I grew up someone told me the story about two life-term prisoners in medieval times, one of them allowed to drink only tea, the other coffee. The coffee-guy lived longer. That was enough for me to stake my rights and start drinking coffee in high school.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#13

Post by eterm »

rodionos wrote: post #12

This discussion about coffee has become too scientific. When I was a child, my parents would not let us drink coffee, but tea was not only allowed it was part of daily routine as long as I remember. We didn't question. When I grew up someone told me the story about two life-term prisoners in medieval times, one of them allowed to drink only tea, the other coffee. The coffee-guy lived longer. That was enough for me to…

If you're basing decisions off a single anecdotal* data point from "medieval times", I can see how anything else would seem "too scientific" in comparison.

* And fictitious

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#14

Post by AI_Overlord »

danieltillett wrote: post #10

The thing to remember with caffeine is its half-life in non-smokers is 8 hours (it is 3 hours in smokers). I have a rule to never have any drink with caffeine after midday - if I break this rule even by an hour I suffer that night and the next day. Caffine is a morning drug.

I can drink coffe at night before going to bed and still sleep like a baby. I wonder if something is wrong with me.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#15

Post by have_faith »

My old co-workers would drink coffee throughout the day and constantly complain about not having enough energy and they would look physically drained. They required it to feel normal. Reminds me very much of people I know who smoke weed to feel normal because they are so used to it.

As another commenter mentioned, not drinking caffeine makes it's effects much stronger when you actually need it. I don't drink tea/coffee/soda/energy drinks etc. So on the rare occasion that I down an energy drink the effect is extremely pronounced. Literally buzzing.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#16

Post by creshal »

soft_dev_person wrote: post #3

Excessive use of anything tends to be bad. "Normal" intake of coffee [1] may have plenty of health benefits, so why quit? Because self control? I'll drink my 3-4 cups of black filtered coffee a day with a good conscience. [1] Not including other high-caffeine drinks (energy drinks) or mixing your coffee with lots of sugar and milk, which would be bad mostly for other reasons than the caffeine itself.

> For healthy adults, the FDA says 400 mg a day is OK. But consuming much more than that can have dangerous, negative effects. And the milligrams add up quickly. A medium-size coffeehouse coffee can contain more than 300 mg, and most 16-ounce energy drinks contain between 160 and 240 mg of caffeine…

3-4 cups might be on the high end of the safe spectrum, depending on what your idea of a "cup" is. (For the record, 3 half-litre beer steins of coffee a day turned out to be a spectacularly bad idea, even if hearing colours was briefly entertaining.)

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#17

Post by prodmerc »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #11
mcculley wrote: post #8

I weaned myself off of caffeine entirely seven months ago. Being free of caffeine has greatly improved the quality of my sleep and made my mood more even throughout the day. I really appreciate being able to jump straight out of bed in the morning without depending on that coffee to get my brain working.

Benefits of quitting caffeine for me : - fewer head aches - much better sleep - reduced mid afternoon blahs - easier wake ups - ability to use small amounts of caffeine for medicinal purposes. (by itself or to enhance the effects of other drugs)

Huh, I get fewer headaches and wake up easier with coffee.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#18

Post by creshal »

AI_Overlord wrote: post #14
danieltillett wrote: post #10

The thing to remember with caffeine is its half-life in non-smokers is 8 hours (it is 3 hours in smokers). I have a rule to never have any drink with caffeine after midday - if I break this rule even by an hour I suffer that night and the next day. Caffine is a morning drug.

I can drink coffe at night before going to bed and still sleep like a baby. I wonder if something is wrong with me.

Built-up tolerance? After drinking triple espressos like water in university I could drink coffee at 10 pm and still fall asleep an hour later. Of course, I'd wake up feeling more tired than before with a splitting headache, but that's what the triple espressos were for.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#19

Post by Kenji »

Caffeine has such a strong effect on me (physically and psychologically), I can even tell its effect in some (not fully) decaffeinated coffees. This started one day, I've been a regular drinker before. Since then, almost only decaf.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#20

Post by cbd1984 »

creshal wrote: post #16
soft_dev_person wrote: post #3

Excessive use of anything tends to be bad. "Normal" intake of coffee [1] may have plenty of health benefits, so why quit? Because self control? I'll drink my 3-4 cups of black filtered coffee a day with a good conscience. [1] Not including other high-caffeine drinks (energy drinks) or mixing your coffee with lots of sugar and milk, which would be bad mostly for other reasons than the caffeine itself.

> For healthy adults, the FDA says 400 mg a day is OK. But consuming much more than that can have dangerous, negative effects. And the milligrams add up quickly. A medium-size coffeehouse coffee can contain more than 300 mg, and most 16-ounce energy drinks contain between 160 and 240 mg of caffeine… 3-4 cups might be on the high end of the safe spectrum, depending on what your idea of a "cup" is. (For the record, 3 h…

> (For the record, 3 half-litre beer steins of coffee a day turned out to be a spectacularly bad idea, even if hearing colours was briefly entertaining.)

I've consumed caffeine to the point of serious gastric distress and very mild heart palpitations and I've never experienced synesthesia. I'm unwilling to push beyond that to higher doses, but two or three 12-cup pots a day of light roast filtered black coffee is about average for me, so what the Hell? Is there just that much individual variation here?

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