5 ms·

> caffeine does help from my testing, especially caffeine combined with L-Theanine. One thing that made me look into adderall was finding out I was a slow meta

by krrrh 6y ago

> caffeine does help from my testing, especially caffeine combined with L-Theanine. One thing that made me look into adderall was finding out I was a slow metabolizer of caffeine via 23andme, and was consuming an unhealthy level of caffeine. I did some research and determined that the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine. Scott Alexander’s review of the research on Adderall are also worth reading: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-mo...

madamelic 6y ago
>the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine. I hadn't seen that before, so thank you! I ran into this same thing accidentally, I was regularly 'overdosing' on caffeine by drinking 300 - 400mg of caffeine per day in college. The safe dosage is ~200mg for an adult if I recall, but I can only do about 100 - 125mg absolute max or my heart starts pounding. I am not sure if this lowered limit is due to 'abuse' or if I also have different caffeine metabolization. I will have to take a look at my data.
- krrrh 6y ago
  Yeah, without diving back into it myself right now, the health effects of caffeine are quite different depending on a single SNP. For fast metabolizers some doses of caffeine above 300mg/day can actually have net positive effects on cardiac health, while the opposite is true for slow metabolizers. I got into a habit of 400mg+ doses per day and the cumulative effect that had on sleep quality alone was a good reason to find an alternative. I completely agree with your comments about looking for opportunities to use medication to bootstrap into better habits around exercise, mindfulness, and building better systems and habits.
- rejectfinite 6y ago
  >The safe dosage is ~200mg for an adult if I recall No? It is 400mg https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h...

by krrrh 6y ago

madamelic 6y ago

>the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine. I hadn't seen that before, so thank you! I ran into this same thing accidentally, I was regularly 'overdosing' on caffeine by drinking 300 - 400mg of caffeine per day in college. The safe dosage is ~200mg for an adult if I recall, but I can only do about 100 - 125mg absolute max or my heart starts pounding. I am not sure if this lowered limit is due to 'abuse' or if I also have different caffeine metabolization. I will have to take a look at my data.

krrrh 6y ago
Yeah, without diving back into it myself right now, the health effects of caffeine are quite different depending on a single SNP. For fast metabolizers some doses of caffeine above 300mg/day can actually have net positive effects on cardiac health, while the opposite is true for slow metabolizers. I got into a habit of 400mg+ doses per day and the cumulative effect that had on sleep quality alone was a good reason to find an alternative. I completely agree with your comments about looking for opportunities to use medication to bootstrap into better habits around exercise, mindfulness, and building better systems and habits.
rejectfinite 6y ago
>The safe dosage is ~200mg for an adult if I recall No? It is 400mg https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h...