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Comment by Swizec | Hacker News Reader

> You ingest caffeine only in the morning.

But that makes no sense. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which have to do with how sleepy you are. But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake).

Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really.

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine > Caffeine's principal mode of action is as an antagonist of adenosine receptors in the brain.

I mean, if you're only going to drink caffeine in the morning you might as well go without. No need for the sweats, frequent visits to the loo and dehydration if you're not even going to use its upsides.

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>Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really.

No.

I understand what you're trying to convey but calling coffee before lunch a placebo is definitely going too far.

It's true that caffeine binds to adenosine, but 1) there is always a non-trivial baseline of adenosine in your system (and for many, morning adenosine levels are high in spite of having just slept) and 2) there is more than just caffeine in coffee.

"But they aren't doing anything in the morning as you've just woken up (think of them as a counter of how long you've been awake"

How so? If you wake up sleepy and groggy and all that, then what neuroreceptors are we talking about?

I would guess they're one of the few lucky people that wake up feeling refreshed and perky in the morning. Me, I feel like zombie usually the first 30-45mins unless I have some caffeine shortly after waking up.

Not at all, I've just realised that waiting for a bit works better than drinking caffeine.

Exercise helps greatly as well.

Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really.

I find this hard to believe. And it would be pretty easy to test using decaf coffee in a double-blind trial.

You would need people that have been caffeine free for a long time as to not have withdrawals effect the results. I would assume there would be a lot of variables in people caffeine responses which would be hard to control.

Any coffee before lunch is just a placebo really

A tasty and enjoyable placebo that keeps me from getting a caffeine withdrawal headache.

I'm pretty sure caffeine increases stress levels which is what you want, if you need to start focusing on your work.

Of course, too much stress is bad for you, which is why you shouldn't have multiple cups a day...

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