Interesting how "quitting coffee" makes it up the rounds, and pretty much all the discussion perceives "quitting is good," -- but there's quite a bit of at least plausible evidence, both modern scientific as well as really old school, that suggest that coffee is really good for you?
An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
41–50 of 89 posts
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#42I don't have any sleep issues as long as I stick to a simple rule: No caffeine after 15:00.
Yeah caffeine doesn't stay in the body all that long. If you stop all intake it will basically all be metabolized or eliminated within 24 hours. For most people, the effects diminish earlier than that, usually from 6-12 hours. It's not something that requires a long detox period. If you want to quit and are getting headaches, take an aspirin/tylenol/advil (check that they don't contain caffeine!) and drink plenty of…
Personal caffeine metabolization rate is partly genetic[0], but can be aided by diet[1].. like mother always said, finish your (brassica) vegetables!
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#43Now that coffee is hilariously expensive I expect more such stories.
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#44Only slightly related, but I've found that traditionally brewed coffee and espresso give me a ton of anxiety. Tea, energy drinks, and even cold brew don't give me nearly the same level of anxiety. Any hypotheses on what might be going on? This has been an unsolved mystery in my life...
Probably L-theanine? It's found naturally in teas and it's not uncommon in energy drinks/preworkouts. I'm not sure about cold brew though.
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#45Quitting coffee was a really bad experience for me.
I had what felt like withdrawal symptoms: a strong headache, muscle aches, and I was really cold. It lasted for two days, until I took a minuscule sip and everything went away within five minutes.
That made me realize the extent to which I was actually addicted, and how dependent my body was on it.
I managed to quit and stayed caffeine-free for about a year.
But one day I said, “Just one cup won’t hurt,” and oh boy... it was like having superpowers. I was so focused, so wide awake. Of course, I’m an addict again. :(
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#46Coffee without food really fucks up my stomach. people rarely bring that up. But after years of coffee without food, it can sorta kill your stomach
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#47Go to bed EARLY. No caffeine after 1500 hrs. Front load your liquids to limit getting up during the night. Then when The alarm goes off, get your ass up!
Put down your screens several hours before bedtime, pick up a book instead.
and get 30+ minutes of quality exercise (preferably a few hours before bed).
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#48Interesting how "quitting coffee" makes it up the rounds, and pretty much all the discussion perceives "quitting is good," -- but there's quite a bit of at least plausible evidence, both modern scientific as well as really old school, that suggest that coffee is really good for you?
You can frame anything as being good for you if you search for reasons and ignore any downsides:
- "Coffee reduces risk of developing Parkinson's"
- "Wine helps reduce heart disease"
- "Nicotine stimulates cognitive function"
Like many other drugs, caffeine has some upsides, but also some pretty significant downsides (its dependency-forming properties being one of the big ones).
And since this is HN, adding new dependencies to your life seems analogous to code: Introducing new dependencies to your repo should be done thoughtfully and carefully. Sometimes the pros outweigh the cons (the dependency does something that would save you a ton of work), but there are usually downsides to taking on dependencies as well (increased security liability, relinquished control over part of your stack, more build complexity, slower builds, etc)
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#49Talk about coffee is always skewed between I have no issues and a single drop after lunch ruins my night.
Caffeines half life in the body is strongly tied to age. As you get older, the half life gets so long you cannot metabolize a normal dose in 24hours. That is why people over a certain age often drink decaf.
So just because you can drink 5 cups a day at 25 doesn't mean it's the same at 65, or even 35.
Re: An Unexpected Benefit from Quitting Coffee – 10 Months In
#50Only slightly related, but I've found that traditionally brewed coffee and espresso give me a ton of anxiety. Tea, energy drinks, and even cold brew don't give me nearly the same level of anxiety. Any hypotheses on what might be going on? This has been an unsolved mystery in my life...
Probably L-theanine? It's found naturally in teas and it's not uncommon in energy drinks/preworkouts. I'm not sure about cold brew though.
Theanine is calming. For example, pure theanine and magnesium are the only two substances Huberman recommends as sleep aids.
There is a minor complication in which if the brain is in a very stimulated state, then theanine can add to the stimulation, but that has happened to me only once in hundreds of times of my using theanine at bed time, and is extremely unlikely to recur now that I know about the complication.
Also, coffee does not contain any theanine.