5 ms·

> If life isn’t exciting then you may want to change it. I, like many people, need to exchange my time for a paycheck. During this time I often have to pay clo

by sofal 6y ago

> If life isn’t exciting then you may want to change it. I, like many people, need to exchange my time for a paycheck. During this time I often have to pay close attention to minute details in a text document, and think through implications of design proposals. As much as I enjoy it and feel very fortunate to have such a comfortable and mentally stimulating job, the fact is that it just isn't always going to be exciting. I imagine that dedicating myself to any worthwhile effort over a long period of time would result in many periods during which optimal excitement levels are not achieved. I'm in the position to already know exactly what my life would be like without coffee, as I grew up Mormon and believed I was personally commanded to not drink coffee or tea by the creator and sustainer of the universe. The result was: I was sleepy at inopportune times. It didn't matter how much sleep I got, or how interested I was in the subject matter. I just got sleepy when I needed to sit still and pay close attention to things. It wasn't ever a huge deal, and I was able to work around it, but that's just how it was. I don't think my sleepiness was particularly unusual or extreme. I just think that humans aren't optimally evolved to sit in math lectures or review intricate documents on a daily schedule. As soon as I started drinking coffee, there was noticeable improvement. No more than 2 cups per workday. One in the morning, another in the afternoon. My sleepiness all but went away entirely. Ever since then I've been slightly more productive. Like I said, it's not a huge thing, but it's an obvious improvement. If I gave it up as part of some righteous attempt to remove my excitement crutches or whatever, the long term result would simply be: I'd be sleepy more often.

jotakami 6y ago
I’ve had a similar experience, although with one notable exception: within a week after I began microdosing a certain psychedelic, I spontaneously decided to quit caffeine cold turkey and had no qualms about it. Like some inner voice just said “why the hell do you have to push the accelerator so hard?” and there was no sensible answer so I quit. Unfortunately, that was short-lived because I don’t have a steady microdose supply so now I’ve reverted to my old ways.
- 2muchcoffeeman 6y ago
  Unfortunately for us, the delivery vehicle for caffeine can taste great and the process to remove the caffeine can leave a substandard result. I’d totally use other nootropics in managed doses if I could do so long term with no serious side effects.
  - neltnerb 6y ago
    Offices are also way too cold, I will just sit there drinking hot water if I don't want the caffeine...
    - distances 6y ago
      I don't find coffee to have much of a warming effect. My solution to cold offices is three shirts and wrist warmers.
    - kqr 6y ago
      It might go beyond the temperature of the liquid, though: caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it restricts blood flow to your extremities, meaning you'd be better at retaining your core temperature. (That said, you should also be "feeling" colder in your hands and feet.) (This is the opposite effect of alcohol, which is a vasodilator: it makes you feel warm by filling your extremities and outer layers with blood, but at the cost of actually losing core temperature. Hence drunk people easily freezing to death in winter.)
      - phonypc 6y ago
        Caffeine is generally thought of as a vasodilator. It's a bit more complex than that, but it definitely doesn't restrict blood flow to your extremities.
  - taude 6y ago
    I've actually quit coffee a few times for 6+ month periods. One thing you'll notice, or at least I did, coffee just didn't taste that good, and your mind quickly connects the caffeine rush it's going to get. Even trying to drink decalf wasn't a worthwhile endeavor (even though there's still a tiny bit of caffeine in it). I imagine, it's a variation of a junkie not loving to put the needle in their arms, but anticipating their high. Note: I don't drink coffee "drinks" like mochas, lattes, frappachinos, etc. just drink black coffee, without sugar and milk .
dkersten 6y ago
> I, like many people, need to exchange my time for a paycheck. During this time I often have to pay close attention to minute details in a text document, and think through implications of design proposals. Anecdotally, I can concentrate and focus a LOT better when I get a plenty of sleep and exercise and don’t drink any coffee at all for at least a few days beforehand. I do love the flavour of coffee though so I still drink it, but I try to keep my intake low. > The result was: I was sleepy at inopportune times. I’m certainly no expert and definitely don’t know your specific circumstances, but on the surface this looks like a sleep hygiene or even diet issue. > One in the morning, another in the afternoon. I don’t know what age you are but I used to do this in my twenties and never had any problems sleeping, but in my thirties a coffee in the afternoon really messed with my sleep, although it took a few visits to the doctor to realise. I now very rarely drink coffee after about 1300 and I sleep a lot better. Basically, if you’re young, you can get away with it but be careful. If you’re not young then... maybe your body handles it differently, lucky.
- sofal 6y ago
  Interesting. I never drank coffee in my twenties, and only started in my thirties. I now realize that I would have had a better time during undergrad, grad school, and part of my career had I drank coffee in my twenties as well.
- kordlessagain 6y ago
  > I can concentrate and focus a LOT better when I get a plenty of sleep and exercise and don’t drink any coffee at all for at least a few days beforehand. Confirmed. I've been off for a few months now. Getting a good night's sleep is the key.
credit_guy 6y ago
I'll second that. Growing up, I saw my father drinking lots of coffee every day, and complaining about his "addiction". This simply registered as a bad thing in my mind, so I avoided coffee at all costs until I was about 30. Even now, I still have a "moral" repulsion towards coffee, if you wish. Most non-working days, I don't touch coffee. So, I was able to get through a PhD without caffeine. But, man, how many times was I sleepy. The worse was being sleepy at the wheel. How many times did I not started dozing for a few seconds while driving (never got into an accident though). And no, I was not sleep deprived. There are people, like me, who are sleepy at times, despite not skimping on their sleep. I will note though, that for the last 6 weeks I did not drink any coffee, with all the work-from-home thing. I drink only tea nowadays.
- ignoramous 6y ago
  Tea has caffine, too. Any reason you switched to tea? And what has been your experience, so far? Curious, do you prefer the CTC tea [0] or whole-leaf / fannings? [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_tear,_curl https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_tear,_curl
  - credit_guy 6y ago
    > Any reason you switched to tea It's irrational for me. I simply don't associate tea with "wrong". I also know that tea has much less caffeine than coffee. The experience so far was good. The only unpleasant thing is that I get nausea from simple tea, so I need to use cream and a sweetener, and sometimes even with that I still get nausea. Long term I would like to be able to ditch caffeine completely. But it's not really on my top 10 todo list.

by sofal 6y ago

jotakami 6y ago

I’ve had a similar experience, although with one notable exception: within a week after I began microdosing a certain psychedelic, I spontaneously decided to quit caffeine cold turkey and had no qualms about it. Like some inner voice just said “why the hell do you have to push the accelerator so hard?” and there was no sensible answer so I quit. Unfortunately, that was short-lived because I don’t have a steady microdose supply so now I’ve reverted to my old ways.

2muchcoffeeman 6y ago
Unfortunately for us, the delivery vehicle for caffeine can taste great and the process to remove the caffeine can leave a substandard result. I’d totally use other nootropics in managed doses if I could do so long term with no serious side effects.
- neltnerb 6y ago
  Offices are also way too cold, I will just sit there drinking hot water if I don't want the caffeine...
  - distances 6y ago
    I don't find coffee to have much of a warming effect. My solution to cold offices is three shirts and wrist warmers.
  - kqr 6y ago
    It might go beyond the temperature of the liquid, though: caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it restricts blood flow to your extremities, meaning you'd be better at retaining your core temperature. (That said, you should also be "feeling" colder in your hands and feet.) (This is the opposite effect of alcohol, which is a vasodilator: it makes you feel warm by filling your extremities and outer layers with blood, but at the cost of actually losing core temperature. Hence drunk people easily freezing to death in winter.)
    - phonypc 6y ago
      Caffeine is generally thought of as a vasodilator. It's a bit more complex than that, but it definitely doesn't restrict blood flow to your extremities.
- taude 6y ago
  I've actually quit coffee a few times for 6+ month periods. One thing you'll notice, or at least I did, coffee just didn't taste that good, and your mind quickly connects the caffeine rush it's going to get. Even trying to drink decalf wasn't a worthwhile endeavor (even though there's still a tiny bit of caffeine in it). I imagine, it's a variation of a junkie not loving to put the needle in their arms, but anticipating their high. Note: I don't drink coffee "drinks" like mochas, lattes, frappachinos, etc. just drink black coffee, without sugar and milk .

dkersten 6y ago

> I, like many people, need to exchange my time for a paycheck. During this time I often have to pay close attention to minute details in a text document, and think through implications of design proposals. Anecdotally, I can concentrate and focus a LOT better when I get a plenty of sleep and exercise and don’t drink any coffee at all for at least a few days beforehand. I do love the flavour of coffee though so I still drink it, but I try to keep my intake low. > The result was: I was sleepy at inopportune times. I’m certainly no expert and definitely don’t know your specific circumstances, but on the surface this looks like a sleep hygiene or even diet issue. > One in the morning, another in the afternoon. I don’t know what age you are but I used to do this in my twenties and never had any problems sleeping, but in my thirties a coffee in the afternoon really messed with my sleep, although it took a few visits to the doctor to realise. I now very rarely drink coffee after about 1300 and I sleep a lot better. Basically, if you’re young, you can get away with it but be careful. If you’re not young then... maybe your body handles it differently, lucky.

sofal 6y ago
Interesting. I never drank coffee in my twenties, and only started in my thirties. I now realize that I would have had a better time during undergrad, grad school, and part of my career had I drank coffee in my twenties as well.
kordlessagain 6y ago
> I can concentrate and focus a LOT better when I get a plenty of sleep and exercise and don’t drink any coffee at all for at least a few days beforehand. Confirmed. I've been off for a few months now. Getting a good night's sleep is the key.

credit_guy 6y ago

I'll second that. Growing up, I saw my father drinking lots of coffee every day, and complaining about his "addiction". This simply registered as a bad thing in my mind, so I avoided coffee at all costs until I was about 30. Even now, I still have a "moral" repulsion towards coffee, if you wish. Most non-working days, I don't touch coffee. So, I was able to get through a PhD without caffeine. But, man, how many times was I sleepy. The worse was being sleepy at the wheel. How many times did I not started dozing for a few seconds while driving (never got into an accident though). And no, I was not sleep deprived. There are people, like me, who are sleepy at times, despite not skimping on their sleep. I will note though, that for the last 6 weeks I did not drink any coffee, with all the work-from-home thing. I drink only tea nowadays.

ignoramous 6y ago
Tea has caffine, too. Any reason you switched to tea? And what has been your experience, so far? Curious, do you prefer the CTC tea [0] or whole-leaf / fannings? [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_tear,_curl https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_tear,_curl
- credit_guy 6y ago
  > Any reason you switched to tea It's irrational for me. I simply don't associate tea with "wrong". I also know that tea has much less caffeine than coffee. The experience so far was good. The only unpleasant thing is that I get nausea from simple tea, so I need to use cream and a sweetener, and sometimes even with that I still get nausea. Long term I would like to be able to ditch caffeine completely. But it's not really on my top 10 todo list.