The invisible addiction: is it time to give up caffeine?
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
But have you never wondered what ~1-2 weeks of withdrawal could net you?
I'd have to find the sources again but basically all the caffeine does now is to bring you back up to the levels that your brain would have had without the daily mini withdrawals and to mislead you into thinking you are awake and/or more productive.
As in, without any caffeine ever, your morning would not be bad until your first coffee. Your afternoon lull would not be a caffeine deprivation lull until you get the boost back up.
Students trying to stay awake on caffeine to finish that paper or whatever are not magically doing great work. In fact, their brain is just as bad at what they're trying to do as if they didn't have caffeine but their conscious mind doesn't notice, because of the caffeine signaling them that they're more alert and awake than they are.
I don’t generally use coffee to “wake up,” in face I really only have it in the morning if it’s a _really_ early day for me or if I’m at a hotel where it’s served free or something. Most of my consumption is around 4pm, and I find that it helps me zero in on tasks better and just grind some code out. It doesn’t make me jittery or anything, not unless I have an empty stomach. I might be an outlier, but I generally find it’s a net positive.
I can be a social drinker (of coffee) while my friends are drinking their beers, but I cannot fathom myself asking for a "juice" instead.