You guys are all probably on adderall anyway :P
What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
11–20 of 53 posts
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#12The author makes it seem as if you have two choices: "tolerance and dependence" or "kick the habit". Maybe acting like caffeine is methamphetamine bumps up the pageviews, I don't know. But I do know that caffeine once or twice a week for a burst of energy won't see you developing a tolerance - so you can continue to benefit.
There's also quite a bit of range between people who drink two cups of mild coffee a day, people who drink soda and people who chug down espressi.
It depends on the quantity too. We drink espresso, but only 1-2 oz of coffee per cup, which has less caffeine than one of the buckets of diluted coffee from e.g. Starbucks.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#13This is interesting, but the article just explains the benefits of coffee. What are the downsides? I would like to hear why he quit.
Dr. Andrew Weil says, "On the down side are coffee's well-documented side effects: anxiety, insomnia, tremor and irregular heartbeat. It can also irritate the digestive system, bladder and prostate." http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400146/Is-Coffee-Good-For-You...
I realized as soon as I posted that I could just google it. But the guy did a good job explaining the underlying science between caffeine highs, I would have liked him to explain the negatives as well.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#14I drink one cup of coffee each morning just because I like it. It doesn't do anything to me. It just tastes good.
I used to say the same thing. Then I had kids, and went from an irregular sleep schedule where at least twice a week I was getting 8+ hours to one where every night I get 6.5-7, with few excursions in either direction.
Coffee suddenly has a much more significant effect.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#15I find an empty stomach, similar to alcohol, allows it to work to full effect.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#16A few years ago I traded being permanently sleep deprived and drinking tons of coffee (which I love) for always sleeping 8 hours per night. My productivity has been very consistent and stronger than ever since. No more boom and bust cycles.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#17I gave up caffeine a few years ago. I get far fewer headaches, and I've noticed while soldering my hand is now rock solid, no trembling.
For me at least caffeine wasn't giving me any kind of boost, just fighting off the withdrawal symptoms.
I think that's a problem for most people, they think coffee is giving them a boost, but really it's just that they feel relatively better because without it they are suffering withdrawal symptoms.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#18One thing that a lot of these kinds of articles don't mention is that tolerance effects in drugs tend to be at least somewhat dosage dependent, and there is some evidence that this is the case with caffeine[1]. Look at amphetamines, for example; at large doses they have a large tolerance effect and are highly addictive. At small doses the tolerance effect is smaller, and they are non-addictive, yet still therapeutic against disorders like ADHD.
It's reasonable, therefore, to suppose that there should be a "sweet spot" for caffeine use, where the tolerance you build is small, but the effects are still significant.
It's also worth mentioning that "tolerance" is not an all or nothing thing. With nicotine and amphetamines, there is a tolerance effect, but some of the effects of those drugs actually become stronger with regular use (and this is believed to play a role in the formation of addictions to those substances)[2]. So while tolerance and withdrawal are real problems, it is a myth that addicts merely return to the baseline in all respects when exposed to the drug they're addicted to.
In any case, if you are bothered by caffeine side effects, you might want to get some theanine. It's cheap, relatively flavorless, and when used in a 2:1 ratio with caffeine, it's been shown to reduce the side effects of caffeine[3], while adding some other cognitive benefits besides what you get from caffeine alone[3][4].
[1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/00913057889...
[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14592678
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#19A few years ago I traded being permanently sleep deprived and drinking tons of coffee (which I love) for always sleeping 8 hours per night. My productivity has been very consistent and stronger than ever since. No more boom and bust cycles.
This has nothing to do with coffee and much more to do with regular sleep.
Neither of which are mutually exclusive.
Re: What Caffeine Really Does to Your Brain
#20I keep switching between tea and coffee. I like tea more at the moment (green, white, black, pu-erh, sometimes herbal).
There just seems to be a wider variety of teas that I can switch between. I don't do it for alertness or withdrawal symptoms as much as I do it for the taste. Coffee to me, while tasting good, more or less seems similar (short of changes in roasting levels).