Is it common for people to drink tea/coffee to boost their performance?

skinnyLips

personal preference from a life of balancing athletics/academics

by importance for balancing psych/physiological well-being:

exercise >= sleep > coffee > drugs (legal or not)

and, obviously, time management governs all of these.

Bourbaki1123

I found the discussion here to be helpful. Speaking from personal experience, caffeine and stimulants in general noticeably improve your short term memory and focus, and several studies agree with this. I wouldn't be surprised by gains in working memory depending on the person. I've certainly felt that my working memory capacity was increased when on caffeine and I usually have quicker recall of facts.

kk727

Weirdly enough, I drink tea to help me fall asleep...but maybe that's just me. A hot beverage in the morning usually does help wake me up, though, but as far as staying awake? There's nothing like a quick, midday nap - I can't get through my day without them.

davesface

I just want to add that caffeine pills are always going to be the cheapest way to get your fix (unless you want to get really extreme and buy pure caffeine powder in bulk and measure out the doses yourself). 150-200mg in the morning gets me right up.

xGAME-OVERx

Really? I would have thought that a jar of even good quality instant coffee would contain more caffeine than a similarly priced pack of caffeine tablets. Maybe need to do some research.

hadsed

Jesus.. caffeine PILLS in the mornings?? You guys realize you are drugging yourselves regularly which leads to dependence.. just like cocaine.

davesface

hadsed, bold words don't make you more correct, they just make you seem like you are resorting to scare tactics. Besides, 150-200mg of caffeine is common in specialty coffees, and even more than that comes in a Starbucks Grande size which many people drink daily. The delivery mechanism is irrelevant. And what is this bias against "PILLS"? They're useful, convenient, and cheap.

xGAME-OVERx, I need to clarify what I meant. The price of a unit dose of caffeine is lower if you buy the pills in bulk than if you buy coffee (even in bulk). Any brand of coffee you can buy in a store (Folgers, etc) has only 70-100mg of caffeine per cup, so you have to use 2x-3x as much to get the result of 1-200mg pill.

Pills have the advantage of giving you a much more accurate measure of how much caffeine you're getting at once, plus pills are instantly available and don't require the purchase of a coffeemaker, filters, and "I'd rather be golfing" mugs. And on top of all that, avoiding coffee which comes overflowing with whipped cream, chocolate, caramel, etc. is better for your health.

Like I said, the real savings start if you buy caffeine in powder form. If you have an accurate enough scale, this is definitely the way to go. I've seen bulk-order websites that have as much as 1.5kg of caffeine powder for about $90 (that's 7500-200mg pills or cups of coffee at a unit cost of less than $.02).

xGAME-OVERx

That's also what I meant, I would have guessed instant coffee give you more caffeine per dollar/pound/whatever than caffeine pills. But this may well not be the case with filter coffee. Still haven't done the maths though!

Ryker

Hmm, this may seem a bit of an odd question, but are you into bodybuilding/lifting weights?

contramundum

Not everyone buys their coffee that way. Furthermore, caffeine in pill or powder form cannot compete with the health benefits of a double espresso. But, as you said, caffeine in powder form is much lighter on the wallet.

Newtime

Health benefits as in antioxidants and such?

contramundum

Yes, read this article if you would like to know more.

http://www.brainready.com/blog/less_..._espresso.html

QuarkCharmer

I always dreaded mornings, had trouble getting up when my clock went off. I was frequently up late at night, because that is when I would get most of my work done. I started a regular excercise program, and I feel much better. I get up when prompted, feel that I accomplish much more during the day, and get to sleep with relative ease.

Newtime

One other thing to help the waking up process: actually get out of bed right when you wake up. Don't roll around even for a minute. I read this in a health magazine a while back (sounds reliable I know...but I'll try to find the source) and I do it to this day. The second my alarm goes off I jump out of bed. I feel more alert within 30 seconds of this than within half an hour if I roll around for 10-15 minutes before crawling out of bed.

QuarkCharmer

I can see that. When I hop out of bed a bit late (without snoozing etc) I always feel very awake after a few seconds while I am rushing to get dressed and out the door.

davesface

Not even a little bit. I'm just not a morning person.

That's the first I've heard about it, and it's definitely a point in favor of espresso over pills or powder. I might have to give it a try.

mynameisfunk

Works for some people....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s