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Am I the only one who finds that this doesn't actually match reality? Caffeine gives me energy/awakeness and I don't find that I am "paying" for it later. Maybe (to keep torturing this dubious analogy) it's a negative interest rate, so in other words, I'm paying for it later, but it's not noticeable compared to the benefits of caffeine?

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Caffeine increases levels of alertness.

It works by binding to the adenosine receptors and inhibits adenosine absorption. Eventually the caffeine wears out and all the adenosine you didn’t absorb because of the caffeine will hit you later and can cause you to “crash”/feel really tired later in the day.

Overall I agree with you, caffeine is doesn’t seem to have no downsides (in moderation)

Andrew Huberman has some great episodes on caffeine and I totally recommend listening to those if you want to understands the effects and how to leverage them

I think if they end up "paying for it later", they were running on empty. The only time I've had that happen is when I hadn't eaten enough and my blood sugar dropped afterwards as a result.

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