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I'm pretty sure that caffeine doesn't increase most people's productivity. Any mental performance ascribed to caffeine in studies is always due to removing wit

I'm pretty sure that caffeine doesn't increase most people's productivity. Any mental performance ascribed to caffeine in studies is always due to removing withdrawal symptoms. It doesn't increase them past their baseline. In addition, caffeine works by stressing the body, thus reducing creative problem solving capabilities. So, really if you quit caffeine, your performance might suffer for a few days, then it'd be back up to 100% or even higher. I don't use caffeine (though I love coffee, it does not love me) I do use smallish dose Adderall XR for my ADHD, but even then I reduce/stop it when I need to be creative (architecture/design of complicated systems). For me, Adderall is great for slamming out repetitive tasks, it reduces my capacity for lateral thinking.

shagie 4y ago
> Any mental performance ascribed to caffeine in studies is always due to removing withdrawal symptoms. It doesn't increase them past their baseline. That tickles a memory of a book series that I've enjoyed. (digging about in the ebook reader for the right passage) > Pip shambled into the galley as the coffee gurgled its last gasp and gave up the ghost with a sigh. I handed him a mostly clean cup and grabbed one for myself before pouring for us both. We sat on opposite sides of the galley table. I for one stared into my cup and tried to wake up as the magic molecules worked their way into my brain. > “You know coffee doesn’t wake you up?” Pip said. > “Speak for yourself.” > “No, it just reverses the effects of caffeine withdrawal. If you didn’t drink coffee, you wouldn’t need it in the morning.” > “If I didn’t drink coffee, I wouldn’t need morning,” I said. From In Ashes Born by Nathan Lowell... book 1 of the 3rd trilogy (start with Quarter Share if you're going to read it - coffee plays a role throughout the entire series).
thisistheend123 4y ago
Serious question: Is everybody on HN suffering from ADHD? Every other commentator here says that he has ADHD.
- taneq 4y ago
  Judging by the conversation on this story, everybody on HN is a smug non-coffee-drinker. I'd guess it's just self-selection (maybe cross-pollinating with the fact that software development tends to require either mental discipline, or hyperfocus...)
- tetris11 4y ago
  I think a lot of people who work in high stress coding environments try to overcome their human limitations (e.g requiring rest, sunlight, communication) via stimulants or some other, and chalk up the neuroses produced by the vicious cycle of stim-work-stim-work as a weakness inherit in themselves
- strikelaserclaw 4y ago
  Instant feedback type problem solving is great for ADHD people, not to mention that unlike other professions, software engineering isn't licensed and in a lot of cases doesn't even require a degree and so a wide variety of people can work as one.
vanillax 4y ago
This is totally irrelevant if you are replacing caffeine with adderall. This is like saying you can stop drinking beer it doesnt reduce social anxiety. I solved this by taking a low dose of xanax.

shagie 4y ago

> Any mental performance ascribed to caffeine in studies is always due to removing withdrawal symptoms. It doesn't increase them past their baseline. That tickles a memory of a book series that I've enjoyed. (digging about in the ebook reader for the right passage) > Pip shambled into the galley as the coffee gurgled its last gasp and gave up the ghost with a sigh. I handed him a mostly clean cup and grabbed one for myself before pouring for us both. We sat on opposite sides of the galley table. I for one stared into my cup and tried to wake up as the magic molecules worked their way into my brain. > “You know coffee doesn’t wake you up?” Pip said. > “Speak for yourself.” > “No, it just reverses the effects of caffeine withdrawal. If you didn’t drink coffee, you wouldn’t need it in the morning.” > “If I didn’t drink coffee, I wouldn’t need morning,” I said. From In Ashes Born by Nathan Lowell... book 1 of the 3rd trilogy (start with Quarter Share if you're going to read it - coffee plays a role throughout the entire series).

thisistheend123 4y ago

Serious question: Is everybody on HN suffering from ADHD? Every other commentator here says that he has ADHD.

taneq 4y ago
Judging by the conversation on this story, everybody on HN is a smug non-coffee-drinker. I'd guess it's just self-selection (maybe cross-pollinating with the fact that software development tends to require either mental discipline, or hyperfocus...)
tetris11 4y ago
I think a lot of people who work in high stress coding environments try to overcome their human limitations (e.g requiring rest, sunlight, communication) via stimulants or some other, and chalk up the neuroses produced by the vicious cycle of stim-work-stim-work as a weakness inherit in themselves
strikelaserclaw 4y ago
Instant feedback type problem solving is great for ADHD people, not to mention that unlike other professions, software engineering isn't licensed and in a lot of cases doesn't even require a degree and so a wide variety of people can work as one.

vanillax 4y ago

This is totally irrelevant if you are replacing caffeine with adderall. This is like saying you can stop drinking beer it doesnt reduce social anxiety. I solved this by taking a low dose of xanax.