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Quitting Caffeine

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Re: Quitting Caffeine

#321

Post by chris_7 »

revelation wrote: post #45
whipoodle wrote: post #20

It has always been interesting to me that (at least in America) this particular drug dependence is something we joke lightly about ("don't talk to me before I've had my coffee"). And of course it's much less serious than other forms of dependence, but it still seems not particularly good to me. I try to refrain from having caffeine often so that it still has an effect when I drink a coffee.

Why does caffeine "dependence" concern you? It's extremely harmless and for the vast majority of the population the sole remaining effect is that of a very slight laxative. Frankly, people drinking coffee over sugary beverages is a public health win.

How many people are actually drinking black coffee instead of some Starbucks ~1000kcal... thing?

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#322

Post by tertius »

mcculley wrote: post #319
StanislavPetrov wrote: post #209

What the author didn't mention, and I haven't seen mentioned in these comments, are the extremely beneficial health effects of coffee (not caffeine, decaf has shown the same benefits). Most significantly, studies have shown that coffee reduces overall mortality rates significantly, with the reduced chance of dying from any cause increasing with coffee consumption (up to a point). >Compared with nonconsumers, particip…

I'm the original author. I did mention that there may be health benefits to caffeine. You make a good point that it may be coffee and not caffeine that people find beneficial. Nevertheless, as I mentioned in the post, I'm skeptical of reports of the benefits of consuming something as most such reports come from entities trying to sell you something or people who want to rationalize their own consumption. I'll try to…

> I'm skeptical of reports of the benefits of consuming something as most such reports

You should be skeptical. But skepticism shouldn't drive you to claim something like "most reports".

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#323

Post by uptownfunk »

endorphone wrote: post #284
nowherecat wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hm..reading this makes me wonder ... I noticed that life is running extremely fast lately and I am having a hard time being "in the moment" ... and I drink a lot of coffee. I really enjoy everything about coffee from roasting to brewing though, so it would probably be quite hard giving it up. Anyway, thanks for sharing this, I will take a long look at that.

I noticed that life is running extremely fast lately and I am having a hard time being "in the moment" ... and I drink a lot of coffee. I drink a lot of coffee. I'm a very in the moment person, meditate regularly, enjoy and live in the moment, etc. This is an approach to life thing that is quite orthogonal to whether you drink coffee or not.

I was saying that it worked for me to stop. Not that you should all stop drinking coffee. If it helps you then why stop. I was just sharing how stopping helped me and that if you want to you can. Nor was I promoting a quick fix. It's not a quick fix and was initially quite a difficult experience for me.

And I disagree that they're orthogonal. There's definitely some correlation between what you consume and your state of mind and awareness. (Don't believe me? Eat a handful of chillies) It is why the Buddhist monks live such a moderate lifestyle, would recommend chefs table episode 1 of the latest season.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#324

Post by tertius »

epmaybe wrote: post #256
cvsh wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if some of this is due to a subtle intervening variable like conscious or subconscious (i.e. fidgeting) decisions to exercise more accumulated over time because of increased energy, rather than caffeine per se.

In epidemiological studies we refer to these variables as confoundimg variables. There's another term as well that I can't seem to remember. When you try and correlate one specific variable, like coffee, to trends like mortality, you must control for every other variable. Socioeconomic factors like income generally cause confounding of your results. For example, there was a recent paper that showed that women with gu…

> epidemiological studies

Tough field... How do you survive with the overwhelming stigma of doubt connected to it?

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#325

Post by tertius »

endorphone wrote: post #308
sol_remmy wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regardless of your anecdotal evidence, caffeine as a drug does cause people to focus. This comes at the expense of noticing what happens in the background

Mindfulness is actually selective focus, so if caffeine helped it then it supports my "anecdote". Caffeine doesn't make life move quicker, it doesn't stop you from enjoying the moment, etc. In conversations like these too often people promote a quick fix type of thing. "I stopped {X} and gained {Y}!", when really there was no causative relationship, and {X} was just a one of many lifestyle changes.

> too often people promote a quick fix type of thing

Though, to be fair, caffeine is a very strong stimulant. So likely, when you stop using it, things will change for you.

I do a coffee fast (for months) every so often. I suggest you try it, we can share more anecdotes when you're on the other side.

I think self-awareness plays a very strong role here. If you're addicted to caffeine, as many are, you know how it makes you feel. Some choose to ignore the effects, others also choose to ignore them...

Likely addiction to anything, if broken for a time, will yield results that one can measure against.

And yes, stopping addiction is a quick fix.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#326

Post by mcculley »

tertius wrote: post #322
mcculley wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the original author. I did mention that there may be health benefits to caffeine. You make a good point that it may be coffee and not caffeine that people find beneficial. Nevertheless, as I mentioned in the post, I'm skeptical of reports of the benefits of consuming something as most such reports come from entities trying to sell you something or people who want to rationalize their own consumption. I'll try to…

> I'm skeptical of reports of the benefits of consuming something as most such reports You should be skeptical. But skepticism shouldn't drive you to claim something like "most reports".

I'm not sure what you mean. I never said "most reports" other than saying "most such reports" have implicit bias. Would you dispute that? Most articles I come across about the health benefits of coffee/caffeine seem to just be reporting the same popular science tropes without any scholarly backing.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#327

Post by ForRealsies »

grecy wrote: post #90
emilecantin wrote: post #13

I drink coffee because I enjoy it, not to give me a "boost" in the morning. I limit myself to 1 large mug per day, with the (very) occasional afternoon cup. I don't notice any difference between my energy levels before / after my morning coffee, nor on days I skip it. I get a headache in the early afternoon when I skip it, though, so I'm definitely addicted. I wonder if the author's energy level issues were due to hi…

Do you notice you are more tired in the afternoon on days you have had coffee in the morning? For the life of me at around 4pm I start to feel snoozy if I had one in the morning.

I've changed from drinking coffee in the morning to only in the afternoon. Keeps me awake after a big lunch.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#328

Post by legohead »

RonanTheGrey wrote: post #115
legohead wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drink Pepsi, and have tried to quit many times. One major thing I notice when I'm "on it" is that I get super drowsy a couple hours after lunch every day. When I'm off Pepsi/caffeine, I don't get this afternoon drowsiness. However, It's really hard to stay up after 10pm when I am off Pepsi/caffeine, which is when I work on my personal projects..

Is this Diet/Light or is this normal Pepsi? What you're describing is sugar dependence, not caffiene. Cut out all processed sugar and after 2 weeks you'll wonder what drug you are on (then cut out "healthy" carbs like bread and pasta and you'll wonder how you ever wanted to eat them).

I've gone on anti-sugar diets too. This issue I'm having is definitely from the caffeine.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#329

Post by enobrev »

sulam wrote: post #298
seanp2k2 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Were? Smoking isn't very cool anymore, but drinking is still pretty cool. It's losing popularity in some circles, but in pop culture, rappers are still in the club ordering bottles, and not of Voss. Weed has a big chance to shake up the alcohol industry, because you can smoke like a Cummins 12-valve until you pass out, then feel fine the next morning. You also don't die if you have too much to smoke. It does have to…

I am suspicious that smoking pot is just as bad for your lungs as smoking tobacco and we simply don't have decades of evidence yet. It stands to reason that inhaling burnt organics is going to have many of the same effects regardless of which plant is involved.

That's likely true, although with legalization has come the popularity of - and even preference to - vape pens and edibles, which weren't as accessible.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#330

Post by swah »

uptownfunk wrote: post #269
jayd16 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you quit caffeine by chance or did you start making a conscious effort to live more in the moment and quitting caffeine was part of that?

Honestly I was getting into a lot of fights with my wife (then girlfriend) and I was trying to figure out the cause. I was taking 20 units of upper div math at Berkeley and coffee is just part of the culture (see Erdos). I was more of a green tea or Yerba guy, but I eventually pinpointed it to the caffeine. It saved our relationship, and lucky for me too.. she's one of the good ones. Caffeine urges me to jump on my i…

So you didn't start meditation or something at the same moment?
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