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Caffeine. What does it really mean to you? For me I didn't really think it played a huge role in my everyday life until recently. I drank sodas like Mt. Dew without thinking twice about it. What I really didn't think about how is how caffeine is actually a drug and it has the ability to effect you.
Why I'm taking myself off it:
The past few weeks have been sort of hellish for me in a way. There has been the stress of school combined with the fact that I've really not been sleeping well at all. When I say I haven't been sleeping well I mean over a whole week I would average about 25-35 hours a sleep with comes to average about 4-5 hours of sleep a day. I think everyone can appreciate that this is just a terrible thing for someone to try and live off of never mind going through some extremely tough classes.
I believe that this problem sleeping can be contributed to two things specifically. Those two things are:
the college dorm environment and the copious amounts of soda that I was drinking every day. By copious amounts I mean I was drinking over a liter and a half of soda per day. While the type of soda would change all of it would be caffeinated soda. I didn't really realize how bad it was and how much it could effect you until recently and when it hit me I instantly knew what I had to do. I had to cut myself off and that's what I've done.
So far I've been caffeine free for: 5 days
Now I'm off on break and I think this is one of my biggest danger points in going back to caffeine is because I have really nothing to do except relax and do things that involve starcraft and at home I have readily available access to soda almost always. I'm leaving for home later today and I'm hoping I don't give in to any urges over my break and I will be sure to try as hard as I can to stop myself.
Cheers!
Locust
  
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Zurich15325 Posts
I applaud you cutting the soda, which can only 100% be good for you. But that has little to do with caffeine, and everything with the insane amount of sugar you were pumping through your body.
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally.
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I've quit caffeine multiple times. The first few days are really the tough part. After a week or two, you'll feel normal. The key to getting over the hump is drinking lots of water. Over-hydrate yourself, not enough to be dangerous, but enough that you don't want to comsume any more liquid of any kind.
The stumbling block for me has always been when I go out to eat. If I go to dinner, I'll ususally get a beer or something. But if I meet friends for lunch or something (or I otherwise don't want to consume alcohol), I usually feel like a Coke. If you let yourself slip a couple times, it can become a habit again.
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Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
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You're blaming the wrong things. You should be blaming the ridiculous amount of soda you were consuming which is extremely high in sugar. Caffeine (1~2) cups of coffee is actually beneficial for your motor abilities and cognitive skills. Please do not be misinformed.
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
Only about half of people experience caffeine withdrawal, guess you're on the other side of a coin flip. Such a special snowflake.
I drink pepsi max all the time and that'll probably all i ever have for caffeine intake cause i fucking hate hot drinks. Good job on controlling that stuff though
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i dont know about coffee, but im addicted to starbucks hot chocolate.
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
It depends really. I've quit for months on end with essentially no withdrawl symptioms. Sometimes I just get a headache or two in the following days. The most recent time I quit I felt thirsty all the time for a good week. Water wouldn't quench it, but something caffinated would. That's about it, and I usually have pretty vivid dreams after quitting.
Some people have trouble. Some don't. I think it's more complicated than just how much caffeine you consume. If you're used to doing it on specific days of the week and specific times of day, your body probably isn't expecting it.
Really there's no reason to quit unless it's negatively effecting you in some way. Calling it a "drug" is technically accurate, but it makes it sound more serious than it is. Unless caffeine is somehow causing you to be unhealthy (drink lots of soda or lose serious amounts of sleep), or if you have some underlying medical condition or medication that makes it a bad idea, it's probably fine.
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
I've actually not had any withdrawl like symptoms since i've stopped
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
If I do not have at least 2 cups of coffee worth of Caffeine every day I experience withdrawl symptoms. I've had severe caffeine headaches form within a day of being deprived from caffeine.
Withdrawls are real and they suck.
I applaud the OP for his commitment, were I to try and follow his example it would be a very difficult thing indeed.
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United States24648 Posts
1 can of soda has enough sugar for your whole day. The caffeine is probably the least of it.
I cut down my soda consumption as well.
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I don't drink soda, but do drink insane amounts of caffeine daily, have no problems at all sleeping. The only bad thing caffeine has ever done to me on the short run was make me answer " I really like coffee" when an interviewer asked what i liked LOL.
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I've made the mistake of drinking acidic drinks before going to the gym for a year or two (coffeine+creatine+other stuff). It's really shit for your teeth and the acid from sodas erodes the teeth enamel which you won't be able to fix later without putting on fake crowns and such.
The acid is just as bad or worse than the actual sugar in soft drinks.
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Self-diagnosing is generally stupid.
You don't need soda. a liter and a half a day is fucking awful for you.
It isn't because of the caffeine in it.
While there may be a correlation, it's more likely stress and everything else fucking you up than pop.
Some caffeine is fine.
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Estonia4644 Posts
hmmm
maybe i should cut my soda consumption as well D:
looking at the label, i apparently get 184.2% of my daily reccomended dose of sugar from soda O____O
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I drink 3 cups of coffee a day (black without sugar) and never experience any withdrawal syndroms. I would suspect it`s more about the sugar. Also take care to drink enough pure water.
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Good job, I've been getting more aware of the effects of caffeine lately as well.
I'm not going to try stop drinking it since I can't be bothered to leave my bed when there's no promise of a snug mug of coffee. I'm mostly monitoring my Dr Pepper intake and at what times I drink caffeine (not too close to estimated time of sleep) and I just drink a lot of water throughout the day. It's healthy to stop either way though, so I hope you can destress a bit.
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Wait caffeine or sugar? Soda's problem is definitely sugar not caffeine, i mean besides water a liter and a half of anything a day is not good for you.
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Unless you are drinking 12 cans a day I don't think the caffeine is so much a problem. (And I do know someone who drank that many Mt. Dew's a day and when she quit she went through crazy withdrawal, probably from the caffeine AND adjusting to a huge swing in sugar intake.)
I can't stand the taste of soda anyway, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Cup of coffee ftw. 
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In my country the coffee is normally served in what you would call 'expresso'. Very few places serve Starbucks style coffees. And I used to drink one per day. But i would do that just socially, because my friends would drink during a break ( usually after a meal) and I would join them. After a while I started to get some headaches. Just out of thin air. I didn't see any reason to have them. I started to make some math and realised that those headaches only happened in the day after my last coffee. So if would drink a coffee today but not tomorrow, tomorrow I would get a headache. But just in that day. The following days if I didn't drink coffee I would be alright.
So I quited coffee. Because coffee was a recreational drink but if I didn't drink one day I knew that I would get headaches. That makes me see that there was two options: drink coffee everyday and never have problems or never drink coffee and also never have problems. I chose the later. I didn't want to drink coffee everyday. So the logical step was to stop.
I never had problems in my life before, without caffeine. Nowadays I have no problems without caffeine. I do everything I want, when I want adn how i want. And I don't miss caffeine in the slightest.
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4-5 hours of sleep is pretty standard in Uni imo...
and like it was said before me, caffeine is not so bad (actually gives you a lot of "anti oxidants"), but with sodas you get a lot of sugar.
I prefer real coffee tbh.
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8748 Posts
I agree with everyone saying that the sugar in the soda was causing more problems from the caffeine but I disagree with the consensus that daily caffeine is good. While daily caffeine users may quote the science on benefits of caffeine and quote personal experience on lack of negative effects, the only really relevant fact is that it's quite easy to become significantly tolerant of caffeine. So the positive effects that they think they are feeling but not measuring in any scientific manner are more likely alleviation of negative effects of dependence than true stimulation causing performance above baseline. The absence of negative effects is likely an accurate report because they aren't getting any effect from caffeine. Daily use results in tolerance that eventually makes it all useless but carries the unwanted consequence of developing caffeine dependence.
If you want to use caffeine effectively, use it like Felix Felicis. Well, it doesn't have to be that extreme. But use it sparingly. And when you do, realize that the side effects are likely to be significant just as the positive effects will. So consuming a lot of caffeine before sleep will probably cause some disruption.
On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally.
I think that working people and students view caffeine very differently. Workers of course drink coffee in the morning and perhaps even in the afternoon. It's rare to still be drinking coffee after 5pm. The effects will be pretty much entirely gone by a 11pm or 12am bedtime. Students, on the other hand, especially soda drinking students, are likely consuming a lot of their caffeine after 5pm. They are pumping caffeine in their bodies so that they can have good brain function after midnight and yet they hope to be able to sleep immediately after they finish their work. It's ridiculous. Even people that have developed tolerance may still have significant problems sleeping. But most likely they are going beyond their tolerance because they don't consume about the same every day. When they have a lot of work, their caffeine consumption spikes.
So I think your sentence there can be interpreted too widely and I'd at least narrow it down like this: have about the same amount of caffeine every day and stop caffeine consumption 5-6 hours before bedtime. Even then, some people will still have problems. Like most drugs, random sections of the population have effects that everyone else does not have.
And on the flip side, some lucky people do not have any negative effect from dependence. But I'm not sure if anyone can really avoid developing a tolerance for caffeine's positive effects. So if you really want to use it effectively, you can't have the same amount every day. If you just want to avoid negative effects, then it's certainly possible for most people to do that while having it every day.
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On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
I applaud you cutting the soda, which can only 100% be good for you. But that has little to do with caffeine, and everything with the insane amount of sugar you were pumping through your body.
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally.
Pretty much.
[unsupported embed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg]
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I really like coffee but do any of you guys find that it makes you feel nauseous. It may be the sugar since I get nauseous from too much sugar, and it isn't the caffeine because I drink Green Tea instead and I'm fine. Also it's really weird for me sometimes it makes me tired and sometimes it doesn't.
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DON'T F'UP YOUR TEETH WITH SODA / SUGAR DRINKS!
I'm very serious. Don't drink mountain dew or stuff like that constantly. I'm talking about continuous "small" drinking over the day and week. It will corrode your teeth over time (unless you are a mutant with super saliva that is immune to acidic effects). There will be no pause in the negative effects that will destroy your teeth if you keep drinking small portions over the day. I used to do this for couple of years and I see the results as I am 24 years old with failed teeth.
Excessive sugar is also one of the worst things that you can put into yourself. It moodswings you when you hit high / low blood sugar levels. It's like a haystack that burns fast, but you want to fuel yourself with something better to last longer. It might feel great to have a hyperactive rush with 300 APM, but it also has additional effects. I can't really start talking about being 50 years old or anything like that with diabetes etc, but I would highly recommend getting your energy more naturally and more balancedly.
I haven't really studied any really scientific papers or preaches, but I speak from my own experience mostly. I just wanted to write this out here, maybe not for you, but for everyone who appreciates a healthy life.
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Coffee has no sugar in it? If you put sugar in to it well... Yeah, than you will get the effects of sugar if sugar makes you nausesus...
Btw: I would recommend to anyone to just not drink any (sugared) Soda/Ice Tea/Limonade whatever at all to still their thirst.
If you want a Coke, drink a Coke (or other). But don't drink a coke because your thirsty, just drink wather (or tea, but not black tea  ).
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Coke and Pepsi are the best. They taste so good and are refreshing.
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Wanna congratulate you to leave soda. I once struggled with it myself (5-7 years ago) and the sugar is so ridicously addictive, yet so fucking bad for you. I'll put it in the same level with smoking, except it ruins or teeth faster.
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I feel like it's like really nuts how people in America (especially there) think that caffeine is really bad for you. I drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day. While I agree that it doesn't probably isn't healthy, but I don't see it as unhealty either. Like, there are tons of shit we probably even don't think about that is more unhealthy than caffeine. I think your just paranoid. Live the life to the fullest and if you enjoy something, just do it.
But yeah, as others before me said, it's a great decission to quit Soda, but I don't really believe it's necessary to quit it alltogether, I mean you can easily enjoy it a couple times a week in moderate amounts.
EDIT: Reading this thread more throughoutly, I can't understand how people think coffee is so addicting. If you don't like it, don't drink it, but if you enjoy it you shouldn't quit it because you think it's unhealthy or addicting. Because that's most likely paranoia.
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I cannot stand drinking soda it seems whenever i drink it when i eat i seem to get full really fast and a hour later i feel like i havnt ate in ages. Also i cannot stand the sticky taste in my mouth and all i ever drink is water becides when i have a protein shake. The only soda i like is dr pepper cherry and only being able to buy it in the smaller bottles (cant remember size) i rarely get to drink it (hard to find in Canada)
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Caffeine is a drug but its a 'lesser' drug without a doubt.
Normal amounts shouldn't be a concern to anyone and if you're concerned about caffeine intake from drinking soda all day you have things a bit muddled, as pointed out, the sugar is much much worse for you if thats all you drink.
I don't drink a whole lot of coffee, I'm British for one, we drink tea but even then I don't have much, but that doesn't mean you can't happily have several cups of tea or coffee during the day, in the evening a coffee may be too much caffeine and if you are experiencing odd symptoms you suspect may be related to caffeine go see your doctor, I'm sure there would be people with an intolerance or those who find regular consumption gives ill side effects (we are all different and physiology is far from an exact science) then giving up / cutting down is probably for the best. However if you're fine and not consuming an excessive amount you're probably at more risk from car fumes, lack of exercise etc than you are from caffeine.
What Nony said about caffeine tolerance is true though, people who rely on it to 'get up' in the mornings are actually staving off a 'low' rather than getting a 'high'. Its hardly a big deal though, its just caffeine and most of the western world gets on just fine with it.
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Caffeine has a half life of around 6 hours in your system. I've found that for me, if I have any more than a cup and a half in my system when I go to bed, it negatively affects my ability to sleep.
This means that if I go to bed at midnight, I can have up to six cups by noon, or 3 by 6:00pm. Of course it varies by person though-- I know people that won't sleep at all if they have less, and people that sleep like logs after a pot in the evening.
There is a lot of research both on positive and negative effects of moderate-high amounts of daily caffeing, I'm not an expert and even the experts are pretty sharply divided on it, so I won't say too much about that.
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I don't use caffeine regularly, it's much more useful if taken occasionally.
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Good job keep it up, you don't need any caffeine to stay alert and energetic. I have never drank coffee, energy drinks of any kind, and haven't touch a soda for years now. Its not hard and you will be doing your body a favor.
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On March 03 2012 00:48 FreshVegetables wrote:
I feel like it's like really nuts how people in America (especially there) think that caffeine is really bad for you. I drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day. While I agree that it doesn't probably isn't healthy, but I don't see it as unhealty either. Like, there are tons of shit we probably even don't think about that is more unhealthy than caffeine. I think your just paranoid. Live the life to the fullest and if you enjoy something, just do it.
But yeah, as others before me said, it's a great decission to quit Soda, but I don't really believe it's necessary to quit it alltogether, I mean you can easily enjoy it a couple times a week in moderate amounts.
EDIT: Reading this thread more throughoutly, I can't understand how people think coffee is so addicting. If you don't like it, don't drink it, but if you enjoy it you shouldn't quit it because you think it's unhealthy or addicting. Because that's most likely paranoia.
From my experience that last part seems untrue, (just subjective anecdotal evidence mind you) I work in the oil patch where sixteen hour days are common place. Many of the guys I work with need their two large Tim Hortons double doubles every morning or they complain of headaches and stomach pains for the rest of the day.
Caffeine might not be overly bad for you, but to say its not addicting or unhealthy at all is an exaggeration as well.
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On March 03 2012 00:28 village_idiot wrote:
Coke and Pepsi are the best. They taste so good and are refreshing.
For me, drinking coke or pepsi just makes me more thirsty and leaves a crappy aftertaste in my mouth.
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On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
I applaud you cutting the soda, which can only 100% be good for you. But that has little to do with caffeine, and everything with the insane amount of sugar you were pumping through your body.
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally.
yea, i got myself off of soda recently, went something like 20 days before i cracked...partially because it was free lol, after tasting a coke for the first time in weeks it was a shock to my system, and i'm pretty sure i'm off soda now lol also i've never really felt healthier just from that small change
-still drink 2 monsters a week though
what i drink
-lemonade
-milk
-water
-2monster/week
quitting soda is worth it though as zatic said it's mostly due to the immense sugar intake
being healthier feels nice got to start finding more ways to be healthy lol
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
Yup. If I stop caffeine intake cold feet, I have a two day "hangover" :D
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I drink coffee almost everyday, missing a day isn't a big deal. It's not going to throw me into withdrawls, sweating in a corner, crying myself. If anything, the worst would be a headache and/or a bit moody. I'll drink a soda if I have one, but I never buy them really, so I don't have them around much. I avoid most soda because I dislike Aspertame, which seems to be in almost all diet sodas now.
I used to be a smoker. You want to talk about withdrawls? lol :p
Though, kicking the sugar/caffeine dependacy is admirable.
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On March 03 2012 02:29 Ringall wrote:Show nested quote +On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that? Yup. If I stop caffeine intake cold feet, I have a two day "hangover" :D
Don't you mean cold turky?
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United States7483 Posts
On March 02 2012 23:17 Liquid`NonY wrote:I agree with everyone saying that the sugar in the soda was causing more problems from the caffeine but I disagree with the consensus that daily caffeine is good. While daily caffeine users may quote the science on benefits of caffeine and quote personal experience on lack of negative effects, the only really relevant fact is that it's quite easy to become significantly tolerant of caffeine. So the positive effects that they think they are feeling but not measuring in any scientific manner are more likely alleviation of negative effects of dependence than true stimulation causing performance above baseline. The absence of negative effects is likely an accurate report because they aren't getting any effect from caffeine. Daily use results in tolerance that eventually makes it all useless but carries the unwanted consequence of developing caffeine dependence. If you want to use caffeine effectively, use it like Felix Felicis. Well, it doesn't have to be that extreme. But use it sparingly. And when you do, realize that the side effects are likely to be significant just as the positive effects will. So consuming a lot of caffeine before sleep will probably cause some disruption. Show nested quote +On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally. I think that working people and students view caffeine very differently. Workers of course drink coffee in the morning and perhaps even in the afternoon. It's rare to still be drinking coffee after 5pm. The effects will be pretty much entirely gone by a 11pm or 12am bedtime. Students, on the other hand, especially soda drinking students, are likely consuming a lot of their caffeine after 5pm. They are pumping caffeine in their bodies so that they can have good brain function after midnight and yet they hope to be able to sleep immediately after they finish their work. It's ridiculous. Even people that have developed tolerance may still have significant problems sleeping. But most likely they are going beyond their tolerance because they don't consume about the same every day. When they have a lot of work, their caffeine consumption spikes. So I think your sentence there can be interpreted too widely and I'd at least narrow it down like this: have about the same amount of caffeine every day and stop caffeine consumption 5-6 hours before bedtime. Even then, some people will still have problems. Like most drugs, random sections of the population have effects that everyone else does not have. And on the flip side, some lucky people do not have any negative effect from dependence. But I'm not sure if anyone can really avoid developing a tolerance for caffeine's positive effects. So if you really want to use it effectively, you can't have the same amount every day. If you just want to avoid negative effects, then it's certainly possible for most people to do that while having it every day.
I recently had a long in depth conversation with a research group here at Umass that are researching the effects of caffeine on the body and specifically on the brain. MRI results from the tests they've conducted are pretty conclusive (I've seen the pictures, they're astonishing), your hypothesis is pretty damn near dead on. People who are used to having caffeine in their system cannot think or act at the same level they did before their caffeine addiction without caffeine in their system, and with it in their system they act at a normal level, not above where they'd be without the addiction. Yes, it is a drug, and yes, it is addictive and it has withdrawal symptoms (although not severe ones).
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Interesting. I tend to drink a cup of ice coffee in the morning to wake up from my coma, but drink nothing during the day (except some tea). Is that a good idea?
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I stopped drinking soda years ago. It's absolutely crazy but I can barely drink a whole can now without feeling sick (I have some a handful of times a year).
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On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that?
You're lucky. I went from 4 cups/day to no coffee at all once and it was terrible. I had flu like symptoms and terrible nightmares. I wasn't even trying to quit, I just didn't have any at home and couldn't be bothered to buy some LOL.
I'm fine if I decrease the dose slowly though.
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Cutting soda can only be a good thing, more power to you!
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I've gone through the same experience. For a long time my health was quite bad, so I started eliminating things one by one that seemed unhealthy. Eventually it came down to caffeine, so despite the fact that I didn't think it would have much of a difference on my overall health I decided it couldn't hurt to remind myself what life was like without it. I went without caffeine for six months.
I had pretty bad withdrawal symptoms. I couldn't focus, I felt tired all the time, I got headaches. Surely some of these are because I had other problems as well, but it didn't help. Turns out caffeine was a pretty strong crutch I was leaning on to be able to get through my day, as I'm sure it is for many people. After eliminating it and slowly deconstructing other aspects of my diet and routine that were contributing to overall poor health and energy levels, I tried working caffeine back in again in limited amounts. I noticed that after many other problems were fixed, and with limited consumption, caffeine was a huge boon to my ability to concentrate, but didn't leave me crippled when I couldn't have it.
As it is now, I use it mostly as a sort of performance enhancing drug to help with studying, playing games, or anything that requires intense focus. Because I don't abuse it and use it in a healthy level of moderation, I'm able to use it to its true potential. You'll likely find after a break and focusing on any other problems you may have that you can benefit just as much through structured use. Good luck!
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i've only had water to drink for over 2 yrs now, and i take 200mg caffeine m-fri pre work out and have been doing so for yrs. soda does not have much caffeine in it at all. 200mg = 57oz of dr pepper for example...which a crazy amount to have all at once rofl.
it doesn't affect my sleep at all..i've slept on average for 5-6 hours my whole life.
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On March 03 2012 03:08 Whitewing wrote:Show nested quote +On March 02 2012 23:17 Liquid`NonY wrote:I agree with everyone saying that the sugar in the soda was causing more problems from the caffeine but I disagree with the consensus that daily caffeine is good. While daily caffeine users may quote the science on benefits of caffeine and quote personal experience on lack of negative effects, the only really relevant fact is that it's quite easy to become significantly tolerant of caffeine. So the positive effects that they think they are feeling but not measuring in any scientific manner are more likely alleviation of negative effects of dependence than true stimulation causing performance above baseline. The absence of negative effects is likely an accurate report because they aren't getting any effect from caffeine. Daily use results in tolerance that eventually makes it all useless but carries the unwanted consequence of developing caffeine dependence. If you want to use caffeine effectively, use it like Felix Felicis. Well, it doesn't have to be that extreme. But use it sparingly. And when you do, realize that the side effects are likely to be significant just as the positive effects will. So consuming a lot of caffeine before sleep will probably cause some disruption. On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally. I think that working people and students view caffeine very differently. Workers of course drink coffee in the morning and perhaps even in the afternoon. It's rare to still be drinking coffee after 5pm. The effects will be pretty much entirely gone by a 11pm or 12am bedtime. Students, on the other hand, especially soda drinking students, are likely consuming a lot of their caffeine after 5pm. They are pumping caffeine in their bodies so that they can have good brain function after midnight and yet they hope to be able to sleep immediately after they finish their work. It's ridiculous. Even people that have developed tolerance may still have significant problems sleeping. But most likely they are going beyond their tolerance because they don't consume about the same every day. When they have a lot of work, their caffeine consumption spikes. So I think your sentence there can be interpreted too widely and I'd at least narrow it down like this: have about the same amount of caffeine every day and stop caffeine consumption 5-6 hours before bedtime. Even then, some people will still have problems. Like most drugs, random sections of the population have effects that everyone else does not have. And on the flip side, some lucky people do not have any negative effect from dependence. But I'm not sure if anyone can really avoid developing a tolerance for caffeine's positive effects. So if you really want to use it effectively, you can't have the same amount every day. If you just want to avoid negative effects, then it's certainly possible for most people to do that while having it every day. I recently had a long in depth conversation with a research group here at Umass that are researching the effects of caffeine on the body and specifically on the brain. MRI results from the tests they've conducted are pretty conclusive (I've seen the pictures, they're astonishing), your hypothesis is pretty damn near dead on. People who are used to having caffeine in their system cannot think or act at the same level they did before their caffeine addiction without caffeine in their system, and with it in their system they act at a normal level, not above where they'd be without the addiction. Yes, it is a drug, and yes, it is addictive and it has withdrawal symptoms (although not severe ones).
Wow, thanks for the amazing information. Seems to me there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to regularly intake any cafeine. I had read about the cognitive benefits of cafeine but didn't realise that they probably wear off when you use them regularly and actually make you dependent on cafeine to function normally. No coffee for me
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On March 02 2012 18:57 ePLocust wrote:
I believe that this problem sleeping can be contributed to two things specifically. Those two things are:
the college dorm environment and the copious amounts of soda that I was drinking every day.
Drinking less pop will definitely help your sleep problems, though, there are many other contributing causes. I'll pick on two:
1). Stress: High-stress semesters lead to a lot of unease and worry. You said that you use SC2 as an outlet. I'll also recommend some sort of physical activity you enjoy. As students it's easy to think you should be a studying robot, but if you don't take some time for yourself then you'll burn out. A physical activity is good because it both keeps you in shape and wears you out.
2). Residence Hall: You said it yourself - the hall is not conducive to sleep. I was a freshman RA for three years and things like staying up late and hanging out are omnipresent. If night-time noise level is an issue, I'd recommend buying a box fan since it will drown out a LOT of hallway noise. If you're the kind of person that needs dead-silence to sleep (like my freshman year roommate) then you need to get yourself in a good routine. Even if the noise level isn't ideal, it helps when your body recognizes certain times as sleep times. If you have a roommate who is opposed to sleeping before, say, 2am, then you need to have a conversation about sleep schedules, forge a compromise, and at the very least appeal to their respectfulness. Finally, many residents stay up late because they don't want to miss out on anything or don't want the good times to stop. Learning when to say "no" is essential. There's nothing wrong with ducking out a friend's room early so you can get more than 4 hours of sleep. Trust me, the friendships, opportunities, and good times will still be there in the morning!
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United States7483 Posts
On March 03 2012 07:58 Recognizable wrote:Show nested quote +On March 03 2012 03:08 Whitewing wrote:On March 02 2012 23:17 Liquid`NonY wrote:I agree with everyone saying that the sugar in the soda was causing more problems from the caffeine but I disagree with the consensus that daily caffeine is good. While daily caffeine users may quote the science on benefits of caffeine and quote personal experience on lack of negative effects, the only really relevant fact is that it's quite easy to become significantly tolerant of caffeine. So the positive effects that they think they are feeling but not measuring in any scientific manner are more likely alleviation of negative effects of dependence than true stimulation causing performance above baseline. The absence of negative effects is likely an accurate report because they aren't getting any effect from caffeine. Daily use results in tolerance that eventually makes it all useless but carries the unwanted consequence of developing caffeine dependence. If you want to use caffeine effectively, use it like Felix Felicis. Well, it doesn't have to be that extreme. But use it sparingly. And when you do, realize that the side effects are likely to be significant just as the positive effects will. So consuming a lot of caffeine before sleep will probably cause some disruption. On March 02 2012 19:04 zatic wrote:
You can have a good amount of caffeine every day and still sleep like a baby if you eat and live healthy generally. I think that working people and students view caffeine very differently. Workers of course drink coffee in the morning and perhaps even in the afternoon. It's rare to still be drinking coffee after 5pm. The effects will be pretty much entirely gone by a 11pm or 12am bedtime. Students, on the other hand, especially soda drinking students, are likely consuming a lot of their caffeine after 5pm. They are pumping caffeine in their bodies so that they can have good brain function after midnight and yet they hope to be able to sleep immediately after they finish their work. It's ridiculous. Even people that have developed tolerance may still have significant problems sleeping. But most likely they are going beyond their tolerance because they don't consume about the same every day. When they have a lot of work, their caffeine consumption spikes. So I think your sentence there can be interpreted too widely and I'd at least narrow it down like this: have about the same amount of caffeine every day and stop caffeine consumption 5-6 hours before bedtime. Even then, some people will still have problems. Like most drugs, random sections of the population have effects that everyone else does not have. And on the flip side, some lucky people do not have any negative effect from dependence. But I'm not sure if anyone can really avoid developing a tolerance for caffeine's positive effects. So if you really want to use it effectively, you can't have the same amount every day. If you just want to avoid negative effects, then it's certainly possible for most people to do that while having it every day. I recently had a long in depth conversation with a research group here at Umass that are researching the effects of caffeine on the body and specifically on the brain. MRI results from the tests they've conducted are pretty conclusive (I've seen the pictures, they're astonishing), your hypothesis is pretty damn near dead on. People who are used to having caffeine in their system cannot think or act at the same level they did before their caffeine addiction without caffeine in their system, and with it in their system they act at a normal level, not above where they'd be without the addiction. Yes, it is a drug, and yes, it is addictive and it has withdrawal symptoms (although not severe ones). Wow, thanks for the amazing information. Seems to me there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to regularly intake any cafeine. I had read about the cognitive benefits of cafeine but didn't realise that they probably wear off when you use them regularly and actually make you dependent on cafeine to function normally. No coffee for me
Yup, that's more or less correct :D.
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Thanks for all the information guys! This is why I love Team Liquid <3
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On March 03 2012 02:44 solidbebe wrote:Show nested quote +On March 03 2012 02:29 Ringall wrote:On March 02 2012 19:19 Velr wrote:
Seriously?
I tend to drink like 1L of (strong) coffee a day when i'm at work and absolutely none when i'm at home or on holydays.
0 withdrawal symptomes...
You guys really get withdrawal when you stop that? Yup. If I stop caffeine intake cold feet, I have a two day "hangover" :D Don't you mean cold turky?
Probably, english is not my first language :D
but hey, you understood what I mean.
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Caffeine means that I can still be alert enough to be basically functional in the weeks where I get less than 20 hours of sleep. Which is pretty much whenever there is a significant change in my routine or a lot of things happening. From experience caffeine does not decrease the amount of sleep I get at these times.
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Wow 1.5 L of soda for caffeine? You could easily get more efficient caffeination with coffee or caffeine pills.
Drinking soda for its caffeine is probably one of the worst ideas i've ever heard of.
With that said. I'm a medical student and I take about 200 mg caffeine in 2 doses (less than 1 starbucks coffee) per day and I sleep 7-8 hours. Learn to control your intake and then you will be able to use caffeine as a tool to help you study instead of damage your health.
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On March 02 2012 19:21 Rickson wrote:
You're blaming the wrong things. You should be blaming the ridiculous amount of soda you were consuming which is extremely high in sugar. Caffeine (1~2) cups of coffee is actually beneficial for your motor abilities and cognitive skills. Please do not be misinformed.
He is right , sugar is the true cause here. Its pretty much poison in high doosez. Why do you think there is fiber in fruit?
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On March 04 2012 10:36 Knap4life wrote:
Why do you think there is fiber in fruit?
I don't know. Why?
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On March 04 2012 11:03 -_-Quails wrote:Show nested quote +On March 04 2012 10:36 Knap4life wrote:
Why do you think there is fiber in fruit? I don't know. Why?
Fiber makes you feel full quicker.
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EPT
