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I stopped drinking coffe 6 months ago and I feel that I raised my average productivity allot as a programmer, my day is more "even" in lack of a better word. I

I stopped drinking coffe 6 months ago and I feel that I raised my average productivity allot as a programmer, my day is more "even" in lack of a better word. I also sleep better, even if I didnt think I had an issue with that while drinking coffe.

robmcm 11y ago
I did the same, but found I was alert as much as with caffine, just unable to control when. For example I was far less productive in the mornings and after eating, and more alert in the evenings and when I wanted to sleep/relax.
- dsfsdfd 11y ago
  Me too, am naturally a night owl. I am most creative and productive 10pm - 3am. Without caffeine I'm a bit useless during the day - it lets me shift the time when I can be productive. It leaves me a bit dead in the evening though
compostor42 11y ago
Same. My average productivity is better and my sleep is much improved. Even if I only had one cup early in the morning, my sleep would still be disrupted. But unfortunately I have relapsed and am drinking a coffee right now...
jmhain 11y ago
I suspect that I would experience the same, if I could stop. I've tried at least a half dozen times in the last few years, but the withdrawal symptoms (headache and intense nausea) never seem to go away, even after several weeks without it. Unfortunately, I can't risk the decreased productivity longer than that.
xorcist 11y ago
I believe it likely that all drugs have a net negative effect in the long run. If humans in general had a chemical imbalance so our brains did not function optimally, and caffeine would fix that so that we just functioned better overall, shouldn't evolution have taken care of that by now? Messing with the signalling systems can be productive in the short run, and certain individuals have other needs, but it is unreasonable to assume it would be good for most people forever. I do drink coffee every day, because I like it, but I would never assume it makes me more alert or smarter in some way.
- BaryonBundle 11y ago
  Evolution doesn't code for just optimal. During the time that we were actually evolving, there existed pressure, for example, to optimize our use of the small amount of food that we had access to, optimizing to be as incospicuous during the dark hours, etc. Signaling processes weren't optimized for access to post-scarcity (in the first-world) availability of sugars, proteins, and fats; sleeping for as long as we do isn't optimal at all (some people have genetics that improve on this, though), and not to mention that the very nature of genetics will definitely produce humans that are sub-optimal in ways that that won't necessarily lead to sterility but will no longer be removed from the gene pool of the species. I'm not claiming that caffeine will make you super-human but the use of substances like these that may have decreased survivability in pre-historic years (e.g., due to increased metabolism, induced bowel movements that decrease nutrient absorption) may augment several aspects of human cognition (and worsen others) in a way that is towards optimal, for say, coding but suboptimal for, say, creative writing (I don't claim this is true, just provide this as a possible example). Many contemporary college students can definitely attest to both the positive and negative aspects for drugs such as amphetamines (e.g., Adderall) in a manner that one could describe (though misleadingly) as superhuman. I do agree that use of many of these substances can have seriously deliterious effects with prolonged use, but all studies I have come across refute this possibility for caffeine.

robmcm 11y ago

I did the same, but found I was alert as much as with caffine, just unable to control when. For example I was far less productive in the mornings and after eating, and more alert in the evenings and when I wanted to sleep/relax.

dsfsdfd 11y ago
Me too, am naturally a night owl. I am most creative and productive 10pm - 3am. Without caffeine I'm a bit useless during the day - it lets me shift the time when I can be productive. It leaves me a bit dead in the evening though

compostor42 11y ago

Same. My average productivity is better and my sleep is much improved. Even if I only had one cup early in the morning, my sleep would still be disrupted. But unfortunately I have relapsed and am drinking a coffee right now...

jmhain 11y ago

I suspect that I would experience the same, if I could stop. I've tried at least a half dozen times in the last few years, but the withdrawal symptoms (headache and intense nausea) never seem to go away, even after several weeks without it. Unfortunately, I can't risk the decreased productivity longer than that.

xorcist 11y ago

I believe it likely that all drugs have a net negative effect in the long run. If humans in general had a chemical imbalance so our brains did not function optimally, and caffeine would fix that so that we just functioned better overall, shouldn't evolution have taken care of that by now? Messing with the signalling systems can be productive in the short run, and certain individuals have other needs, but it is unreasonable to assume it would be good for most people forever. I do drink coffee every day, because I like it, but I would never assume it makes me more alert or smarter in some way.

BaryonBundle 11y ago
Evolution doesn't code for just optimal. During the time that we were actually evolving, there existed pressure, for example, to optimize our use of the small amount of food that we had access to, optimizing to be as incospicuous during the dark hours, etc. Signaling processes weren't optimized for access to post-scarcity (in the first-world) availability of sugars, proteins, and fats; sleeping for as long as we do isn't optimal at all (some people have genetics that improve on this, though), and not to mention that the very nature of genetics will definitely produce humans that are sub-optimal in ways that that won't necessarily lead to sterility but will no longer be removed from the gene pool of the species. I'm not claiming that caffeine will make you super-human but the use of substances like these that may have decreased survivability in pre-historic years (e.g., due to increased metabolism, induced bowel movements that decrease nutrient absorption) may augment several aspects of human cognition (and worsen others) in a way that is towards optimal, for say, coding but suboptimal for, say, creative writing (I don't claim this is true, just provide this as a possible example). Many contemporary college students can definitely attest to both the positive and negative aspects for drugs such as amphetamines (e.g., Adderall) in a manner that one could describe (though misleadingly) as superhuman. I do agree that use of many of these substances can have seriously deliterious effects with prolonged use, but all studies I have come across refute this possibility for caffeine.