my experience with caffeine has been as follows:
Started drinking two large pots of coffee every morning at about age 12 and later drank energy drinks frequently. this would energise me in the morning but it didn’t seem to do much else. at around age 18, I unintentionally quit caffeine due to moving house and family going on holiday. I just kind of forgot about coffee and with nobody to prepare it for me, I didn’t bother trying myself. looking back on that time, I now realise that despite being very tired in the mornings, I had more stable energy throughout the day and my anxiety was significantly lower. I also felt more connection to other people and perhaps more optimism. unusually, my sleep pattern was a little more unbalanced without caffeine and I found myself with more energy and productivity later in the day/evening. I would often get most of my college work done between 6 pm and 11 pm without caffeine. later on, I got back into caffeine from both energy drinks and coffee as I thought it would help me further improve. interestingly, it would make me feel better in the mornings, but it did nothing for my motivation or focus and I began to find myself much more anxious again.
In my final years of university, caffeine was somewhat useful in helping fight off sleepiness, but my best assignment results came from work I did during Ramadan when I voluntarily abstain from caffeine for the whole month to avoid sleep problems and dehydration whilst fasting.
A very interesting observation I made about caffeine:
At least in my experience, it seems to be a very good‘ Do nothing stimulant“. this is because The strong physical and somewhat nervous energy it provides can make lazing around feel more exciting as well as encouraging one to do things that are easy, but useless. on the other hand, through its anxiogenic affect, caffeine may worsen procrastination by making tasks more aversive and stressful. i’ve definitely noticed this affect. yes, without caffeine, I’m much more likely to feel tired/nod off when working on a demanding mental task. however, I’m simultaneously more able to zoom into the task and despite still getting distracted very easily, i’m able to easily get back on track. without caffeine, I also noticed greater optimism about finishing the task at hand and completing it would actually be rewarding in itself as opposed to just being relief from A stressful experience.
Other drugs without caffeine:
Personally, I have mixed views about poly-substance use, Though I think it is predominantly negative most of the time. when not on caffeine, I develop fascination/interests for other drugs especially alternative stimulants and supplements (B vitamins). my go-to alternative to caffeine would be nicotine which I enjoy much more and who’s stimulation actually boost my mood and improves my productivity. yes, nicotine doesn’t improve my cognition or memory a single bit, it just makes doing work more pleasant and more importantly, much less painful. unlike caffeine, it suppresses my anxiety, boosts my optimism and when used chronically, puts me in a strange state of numbness to the pain and anxiety of mental tasks, encouraging me to just get on with them. interestingly, whenever I have used nicotine whilst abstinent from caffeine, nicotine’s beneficial effects were considerably magnified and sustained.
Miscellaneous effects of quitting caffeine:
When abstinent from caffeine after withdrawals have passed, I noticed certain changes to my behaviour and mood some of which I might have mentioned above. these are; no energy in the mornings, but becoming considerably functional and energetic by the afternoon, far less anxiety, less but better quality sleep, possibly improved imagination/deeper thoughts, increased hunger and a massive increase in the pleasurable aspect of tasting food, people say I look much healthier and alive, enjoying socialising much more which is surprising as I’m normally extremely introverted, less procrastination and unusually, enhanced libido. interestingly in regards to procrastination, without caffeine, The anxiety caused by a stressful situation like a looming task would provide enough stimulation to naturally push me to complete it rather than pushing me away from it and encouraging me to procrastinate.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my experience and your own experiences.
