Caffeine combined with L-Theanine does seem provide slight boost for focus to me.<p>That said, I think biggest mood/focus/energy difference (besides a nice workout which is also important) for me was getting vitamins and other micronutrients in order. I highly suggest you to do a blood test or two per year for all the common vitamins/micronutrients to see which you need to fix.<p>For men, I think it is especially important to get magnesium, vitamin D and zinc in order; lack of any will likely affect your testosterone levels negatively which will then screw you up in many more ways.<p>For example, way back I had critically low vitamin D resulting me in frequently getting sick and having periods of complete lack of energy; fixed that and I did not even get common cold for a long time, also no longer random days with no energy.<p>You shouldn't overly rely on nootropics, caffeine+l-theanine or other supplements to cover up base deficiencies with your micros.
I have long been fascinated by the degree to which WWII was fought on caffeine and nicotine (on all sides and all theatres). Other drugs (e.g. amphetamine and Benzedrine) get some press but we’re minor factors. I did a few experiments decades ago with nicotine, enough to notice its nice resonant behavior with coffee, but not enough I guess to notice any real benefit myself. I did relish the social habits associated with cigarette usage (the excuse for a brief pause in conversation to collect your thoughts, the social aspect of one person lighting up and others unthinkingly joining in, offering/receiving a light, cadging or offering a cigarette, sharing a single one, etc)<p>Tea and coffee have long been my companions. During Covid I cut down from two pots of brewed coffee a day to one. In June of this year I unexpectedly had to stop drinking coffee for almost a week and since then have had only one cup, which I accidentally drank out of habit (someone put a fresh one next to me while I was sitting and reading). After 46 years of daily high consumption I just…stopped. And I don’t miss it. I walk past the pot full of coffee in the kitchen and don’t notice it.<p>It makes me wonder how much is simply habit.
For people interested in using caffeine for tasks that don't provide an outlet for the jitteriness in the form of physical exercise:<p>Check out L-Theanine[1], it works wonders for keeping caffeine's focus, but dampening the anxiousness.<p>[1]: <a href="https://examine.com/supplements/theanine/" rel="nofollow">https://examine.com/supplements/theanine/</a>
I'm an avid runner (50-70km/week) and I've been running for 5 years. I run long distances on trail.<p>Seems that although it increases performance and stamina for me it also brings my heart rate up, which is not desirable in most cases since I'm training ~80% of the time in zone 2 (aerobic). At given pace I can have few bits higher HR when caffeinated (between 5 and 10 bpm) which means that I need go go slower in order to stay in zone 2.<p>For me it's a tool that I'm using during races. Also worth noting is that caffeine works on me really well.
It is difficult to determine if researchers are measuring the effect of caffeine itself or the effect of individuals taking caffeine to recover from the effects of caffeine withdrawal. This is a common weakness in studies that show purported benefits to caffeine consumption[1,2,3].<p>Anecdotally as someone who quit caffeine entirely about a year ago, the effects of caffeine withdrawal seemed to last much longer than the 24 hour period that many studies ask participants to abstain for.<p>1. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213082/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213082/</a><p>2. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6209127/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6209127/</a><p>3. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27649778/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27649778/</a>
One data point: I can drink 3 espressos at midnight, go to bed and fall asleep. Apparently I'm immune to caffeine which is both good (I can have a coffee at any time of the day) and bad (if I'm sleepy and I have to drive a coffee won't wake me up.) Maybe I also won't get any of those exercise performance effects.
I've recently started taking 200mg caffeine pills in the morning instead of coffee. A very cheap and easy way to boost energy in the morning, within about 15 minutes you really want to get out of bed, and no need to walk to the coffee machine. 200 pills are about $5, which is a lot cheaper than coffee.<p>I'll probably tone down the dose, because it's the equivalent of 3 espressos, which is a bit much. I would normally do a double espresso.
I work out 2h/d/365d and used to take 450mg boosters, incl. the usual suspects like Citrullin, β-A, etc. every morning. Went cold turkey and I'm now at a single shot of Espresso pre-workout — and the best shape of my life (mid-40).
Sleep and nutrition are key; don't get dependent on whatever supplement you think is necessary.
I'm currently experimenting with a low caffeine (no coffee, mostly green/herbal tea) lifestyle after having the stomach flu (no coffee for a week) and thinking it was the perfect time to give it a shot.<p>My god, I've never been more clear-headed in my life. My working memory seems greatly improved. I'm able to work out complex problems in my head that previously I would struggle to keep my "mental eye" on. Moreover, I'm much less anxious in general and generally much happier.<p>I think I'm ADHD/anxiety-prone and I think that, while coffee for some with ADHD really helps, the increased anxiety made it difficult for "long, slow" mental processing to occur in my head.<p>A confounding factor is that I've also recently introduced a green powder in my diet, but the effect of no-coffee has been much more immediate.<p>I love coffee and never thought I'd be able give it up, but I don't even miss it now...
A bit unrelated, but I always get sleepy from coffee for some reason.<p>Even yesterday I was just yawning and almost falling asleep between sets at the gym, even though I drank an espresso right before the workout.<p>I had a normal 8 hours of sleep that night too, so don't think it has to do with sleep deprivation.<p>Is this something anyone else has issues with?
Note,<p>From my ADHD way of controlling my ADHD the ideal way to stack caffeine with other stimulants is to take 70mg or less daily with the ECGC component of green tea in the form of Cacao to get both Caffeine and Theobromine<p>!. Theobromine is a weaker stimulant that has a lot longer half life than caffeine.
2. ECGC from green tea changes the conformation of the adenosine receptor, i.e. blocks it thus raising dopamine levels.<p>It's the way I get away with a lower L-DOPA dosage and that higher concentration lasts all day just by taking a tablespoon of cacao and my green tea extract in the morning.
I drink one cup of pour-over coffee that I make every morning. I like it medium to medium strong. I perceive many physical effects from it. At this point it's my morning ritual. 20 minutes in bed or on the sofa reading or doing a crossword while drinking a coffee.<p>I am also an hobbyist endurance cyclist. I do cycling 'events' that last as long as 12+ hours. And average somewhere between 6-8. While I've tried for years to add caffeine into my nutrition plan for these events. I have only ever had adverse effects.<p>I seem to manage 6-8 ounces of coke. But in spite of my morning ritual, if I consume any coffee or caffeine infused energy bars or gels I will be miserable. Every time I get weak, shaky, feel like I am going to pass out, and feel absolutely miserable. After about 30-60 minutes, I'll have to suddenly pee. Once I pee I slowly feel better and in another 30 minutes back to normal.<p>I've talked to a hundred people about this, nobody seems to have the same effect. But it seems as if my body just rejects the caffeine, pees it out, and carries on.
As a former Ironman distance triathlete anywhere from 11 to 16 hours of completion time, caffiene on race day is a pillar of maintaining both mental and physical sustained exertion.<p>In Ironman France, which effectively has a Tour De France category 1 climb of 12 miles up a mountain, I got sleepy at the top of the climb, to the point I wanted to take a nap. Yes, you can get sleepy during an ironman.<p>I has heard 1-2%, 2-4% was greater than I thought. If that is true, no endurance athlete is competitive at the top levels without doing caffeine, so it's almost guaranteed every olympic athlete does caffeine.
Another anecdote: I do a lot of powerlifting with heavy weight for a natural lifter (600+ lb deadlifts). I've noticed caffeine really helps me get through the days of extreme soreness, especially when I've had to wake up early or just generally had a poor night's sleep so my recovery is sub-optimal. I found this out around age 23 and have been pretty much drinking coffee most for the last 7 years. Granted its only 1 or two cups but it works for me.
Wasn't caffeine combined with contact sports linked to some brain damage?<p>I remember this being a thing going around - the proposed mechanism was that while caffeine helps in general, it constricts brain blood vessels making blows to head more dangerous, since blow to head "spills" stuff from neurons and due to the constriction they take longer to be resupplied. I remember some scientific articles on this but I don't recall if this was conclusive.<p>It might not be much of a concern for BJJ, where blows to head are relatively rare, but it for sure would be a concern for boxing or MT.
being an old bjj black belt (4th degree), I loved to see it here. I'm training bjj/grappling for more than 30 years right now. I'm 40, and started it when I was 10. I did the math and I drink around 6mg-8mg/kg/day. My question is regarding the caffeine tolerance. Should I reset it from time to time? Never did it, but I'm curious if it exists and its necessary or if that's just a myth.<p>OSS