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Uptownfunk, I also severely limit my caffeine intake (right now zero). It's a tool that mitigates fatigue at the expense of anxiety, irritability, and sleep dis

Uptownfunk, I also severely limit my caffeine intake (right now zero). It's a tool that mitigates fatigue at the expense of anxiety, irritability, and sleep disruption. Through an anthropologist's lens, caffeine helps adapt unreliable human mental concentration to an industrial/capitalist society. (Just like ritalin and adderall!) See ern's comment regarding "forced to take coffee to keep up with my fellow developers". I've observed that coffee is the most common beverage (after water) which employers freely distribute in the workplace. This said, many folks prefer a caffeinated existence and don't experience the side effects. If it works out for you, then enjoy it!

MaulingMonkey 10y ago
I've actually had caffeine help regulate my sleep at times - I figure it helps me use my energy up earlier in the day, leaving me with less difficulty getting to sleep at night. That said, I do get a day or three of withdrawl headaches if I go cold turkey these days. I recently went through a 4-5 week abstinence - not my first - but was extremely surprised when, this time, I temporarily became a morning person for the first 3 weeks of it. That's new. Then my schedule reverted to it's normal night owl behavior - presumably after deacclimatizing from my previous caffeine intake levels. I'm not abstaining currently, but I am trying to keep it in moderation. My main source of caffeine comes with too much sugar (in the form of energy drinks), which I'm a bit more worried about. Fewer drinks, smaller drinks (e.g. consuming half portions), healthier & decoupled substitutes (real fruit for the sugar, tea for the caffeine.) I never acquired a taste for coffee, for better or worse.
hellofunk 10y ago
There is widespread evidence that coffee provides nutritional benefits not found in any other plant or food. And moderate caffeine can be a sum positive effect on the body, as long as you don't go overboard. The anxiety you mention is not the norm if coffee is handled responsibly, and actually it can help stabilize anxiety over time if used consistently.
uptownfunk 10y ago
Yes, I used to be an avid coffee drinker, but I would get so irritable that my relationships would suffer so I quit. Things are much better now, and I find that I have more energy now naturally than I had before when I was a caffeine-addict.

MaulingMonkey 10y ago

I've actually had caffeine help regulate my sleep at times - I figure it helps me use my energy up earlier in the day, leaving me with less difficulty getting to sleep at night. That said, I do get a day or three of withdrawl headaches if I go cold turkey these days. I recently went through a 4-5 week abstinence - not my first - but was extremely surprised when, this time, I temporarily became a morning person for the first 3 weeks of it. That's new. Then my schedule reverted to it's normal night owl behavior - presumably after deacclimatizing from my previous caffeine intake levels. I'm not abstaining currently, but I am trying to keep it in moderation. My main source of caffeine comes with too much sugar (in the form of energy drinks), which I'm a bit more worried about. Fewer drinks, smaller drinks (e.g. consuming half portions), healthier & decoupled substitutes (real fruit for the sugar, tea for the caffeine.) I never acquired a taste for coffee, for better or worse.

hellofunk 10y ago

There is widespread evidence that coffee provides nutritional benefits not found in any other plant or food. And moderate caffeine can be a sum positive effect on the body, as long as you don't go overboard. The anxiety you mention is not the norm if coffee is handled responsibly, and actually it can help stabilize anxiety over time if used consistently.

uptownfunk 10y ago

Yes, I used to be an avid coffee drinker, but I would get so irritable that my relationships would suffer so I quit. Things are much better now, and I find that I have more energy now naturally than I had before when I was a caffeine-addict.