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I’ll take my chance (because I missed it in the other more popular post) and ask this: Why does decaf coffee make me as nervous as normal coffee? A coke doesn’

I’ll take my chance (because I missed it in the other more popular post) and ask this: Why does decaf coffee make me as nervous as normal coffee? A coke doesn’t so I don’t think it’s the caffeine…

Renaud 2y ago
Could it be psychological? The fact that caffeine doesn't seem to play a role, it looks like the act/ritual of drinking coffee and probably expecting some effect from it has a psychological impact? You could always run a double-blind experiment on yourself and find some objective ways to report nervousness (purely a state of mind or is it translated into physical factors, like heart rate or blood pressure?).
- Xeyz0r 2y ago
  > Could it be psychological? I think so. If you strongly associate the taste and smell of coffee with its stimulating effects, your body might react similarly to decaf coffee due to conditioned responses, even if the caffeine content is much lower
- newzisforsukas 2y ago
  Why rush to put the effect on this person? There are over 1,000 compounds in coffee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_compounds_in_coffee#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%201%2C000,active%20research%20in%20food%20chemistry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_compounds_in_....
- HeyTomesei 2y ago
  Interesting since I feel it should be the reverse, psychologically. Personally, my sole reason for drinking decaf is to avoid the caffeine's stimulant effects...so, I'm mentally expecting zero effects.
Xeyz0r 2y ago
Decaf coffee has less caffeine than regular coffee but it still contains a small amount of caffeine. This residual caffeine might be enough for you.
- QuackyTheDuck 2y ago
  Since he wrote that Coke doesn't create this effect, I guess caffeine can be ruled out?
koalaman 2y ago
It could be the drink's affect on your stomach. I believe there's lots of evidence that anxiety can be caused by what's going on in the digestive track as much as what's happening in the brain.
brobdingnag_pp 2y ago
Coffee is laden with beta-carbolines, some of which are known to be anxiogenic.
emadda 2y ago
I think two reasons: Caffeine is not the only stimulant in coffee. It’s just the most well known. Some decaf coffee is more like “reduced caffeine”, not “no caffeine”.

Renaud 2y ago

Could it be psychological? The fact that caffeine doesn't seem to play a role, it looks like the act/ritual of drinking coffee and probably expecting some effect from it has a psychological impact? You could always run a double-blind experiment on yourself and find some objective ways to report nervousness (purely a state of mind or is it translated into physical factors, like heart rate or blood pressure?).

Xeyz0r 2y ago
> Could it be psychological? I think so. If you strongly associate the taste and smell of coffee with its stimulating effects, your body might react similarly to decaf coffee due to conditioned responses, even if the caffeine content is much lower
newzisforsukas 2y ago
Why rush to put the effect on this person? There are over 1,000 compounds in coffee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_compounds_in_coffee#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%201%2C000,active%20research%20in%20food%20chemistry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_compounds_in_....
HeyTomesei 2y ago
Interesting since I feel it should be the reverse, psychologically. Personally, my sole reason for drinking decaf is to avoid the caffeine's stimulant effects...so, I'm mentally expecting zero effects.

Xeyz0r 2y ago

Decaf coffee has less caffeine than regular coffee but it still contains a small amount of caffeine. This residual caffeine might be enough for you.

QuackyTheDuck 2y ago
Since he wrote that Coke doesn't create this effect, I guess caffeine can be ruled out?

koalaman 2y ago

It could be the drink's affect on your stomach. I believe there's lots of evidence that anxiety can be caused by what's going on in the digestive track as much as what's happening in the brain.

brobdingnag_pp 2y ago

Coffee is laden with beta-carbolines, some of which are known to be anxiogenic.

emadda 2y ago

I think two reasons: Caffeine is not the only stimulant in coffee. It’s just the most well known. Some decaf coffee is more like “reduced caffeine”, not “no caffeine”.