Caffeine and Exam Performance

[BeachBlondie]

I don't drink coffee. Or soda. And any tea I suck down is pretty light on the caffeine intake. But, I know that studies such as this one exist:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19088794

Granted, most of the caffeine evaluations are on sports performance, but it's intriguing. So, last weekend I had my first cup of coffee prior to a full-length. Felt pretty damn alert.

I'm wondering if "doping" before this exam has any merit. What do you think?

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[captainuzair]

I did not use to like coffee but after studying for mcat i am ADDICTED to it and i have to drink it everyday lol

 

[DamanTHFC]

the only thing with caffeine and taking exams is that it is a diuretic.

It's gonna make you wana pee and you probably dont wana get up and missing valuable time while taking your mcat test

 

[mcloaf]

the only thing with caffeine and taking exams is that it is a diuretic.

It's gonna make you wana pee and you probably dont wana get up and missing valuable time while taking your mcat test

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774754

Unless you're shotgunning coffee before your exam I don't know that this is an effect I'd be concerned about.

 

[lolcat]

hmmm interesting.

theres some caffeine pills that have great reviews on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Caffeine-Maxi...TF8&colid=2KX5ZF9UR9TM5&coliid=I2HCP8LX4S4605

should i try it out. ive NEVER drank coffee before though lol would it be overkill?

 

[enervate]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774754

Unless you're shotgunning coffee before your exam I don't know that this is an effect I'd be concerned about.

Have you never drank tea or coffee in your life? Both are definitely diuretics. All that study shows is that such beverages do not cause dehydration. Anyone that regularly drinks tea or caffeine can tell you that drinking either makes them need to pee.

 

[mcloaf]

Have you never drank tea or coffee in your life? Both are definitely diuretics. All that study shows is that such beverages do not cause dehydration. Anyone that regularly drinks tea or caffeine can tell you that drinking either makes them need to pee.

"Doses of caffeine equivalent to the amount normally found in standard servings of tea, coffee and carbonated soft drinks appear to have no diuretic action."

I drink coffee and tea every day, neither makes me pee any more than the equivalent amount of water would. Sure I'm probably more tolerant to the effects, but perhaps you're also particularly sensitive.

 

[enervate]

I've been drinking several pots of tea every day for a number of years. It definitely makes me need to pee.

Personally, I think the methods in that study are flawed; they do not address the diuretic capacity of tea and coffee but, rather, strictly caffeine: "Most of those studies have looked at the effects of caffeine itself rather than using tea, coffee or other beverages." Besides that, most of the cited studies are addressing urine volume rather than frequency of urination.

Since you like to cite PubMed, here are two articles (1) (2) in J. Urol that associate caffeine to incident urinary incontinence.

Regardless of the science, myself and everyone that I've discussed it with feels the need to void their bladder within an hour of drinking their morning tea or coffee. It's definitely a realistic concern for at least some of us. In some way, I envy you.

 

[Juggs Gotcha]

Caffeine definitely helped me on practice tests and I'll be trusting it for the real thing tomorrow. 1/3 of an energy drink before PS, 1/3 before VR, 1/3 before BS. Also a granola bar.

 

[mcloaf]

I've been drinking several pots of tea every day for a number of years. It definitely makes me need to pee.

Personally, I think the methods in that study are flawed; they do not address the diuretic capacity of tea and coffee but, rather, strictly caffeine: "Most of those studies have looked at the effects of caffeine itself rather than using tea, coffee or other beverages." Besides that, most of the cited studies are addressing urine volume rather than frequency of urination.
http://dkmg2azsloi0e.cloudfront.net/images/smilies/smile.gif
Since you like to cite PubMed, here are two articles (1) (2) in J. Urol that associate caffeine to incident urinary incontinence.

Regardless of the science, myself and everyone that I've discussed it with feels the need to void their bladder within an hour of drinking their morning tea or coffee. It's definitely a realistic concern for at least some of us. In some way, I envy you.

Hah, I certainly plan to take advantage of it when 3rd year starts (coughsurgerycough).



That review is just the first thing that popped up when I googled "caffeine diuretic". I wasn't really sure what to expect as I've heard people complain about coffee making them pee, but never had an issue with it personally. I guess the safest bet for OP (and others) is to try and introduce coffee before taking a FL under timed conditions and see if urination is a problem.

 

[Patassa]

Day of the exam is not a great time to run an experiment with caffeine. Caffeine is something you build up a tolerance for and then you learn how much you "need" to get moving in the morning or after lunch. Taking too much will absolutely destroy your concentration, you'll be a jittery, nervous, wreck.

In short, really bad idea.

 

[QrtrLifeCrisis]

Day of the exam is not a great time to run an experiment with caffeine. Caffeine is something you build up a tolerance for and then you learn how much you "need" to get moving in the morning or after lunch. Taking too much will absolutely destroy your concentration, you'll be a jittery, nervous, wreck.

In short, really bad idea.

to this advice.

I'm a coffee addict who cannot go a day without a cup or I cease to function properly. Take it from me, coffee WILL make you want to pee not too long after drinking it. That, combined with anxiety -- it'll be a regular old Niagara falls. There's nothing worse than trying to hold it while plowing through the PS section.

 

[Ryush]

I take a caffeine pill every morning before I study and it takes away the drowsiness that usually comes w/ staring at a book for a couple of hours. During the actual thing I took 1 pill (200 mg) when I woke up, and another one after verbal. May have been overkill there lol.

Peeing is only an issue if I drink a lot of water (or if I just straight up chug 2-3 cups of coffee instead). Although it is usually a pretty big issue (have to go every 20 minutes) if that happens.

 

[CaffeineZombie]

It's only beneficial until you become an addict.

 

[whatever5]

For me, caffeine makes me anxious for time and causes me to rush over things - it works great if I'm cramming for that anatomy lab exam that starts in 2 hours when I haven't learned the names of any of the 206 bones I need to know, but it just makes me sloppy for the MCAT.

The point is, do what you know works for you.

 

[onedirection]

Just take some Horny Goat Weed and some pre-workout. Works like a charm

 

[Sterling Archer]

For every practice single exam I've taken I've shotgunned some sort of caffeine riddled drink an hour before taking it. I've always been too focused on the exam that the urge to go to the bathroom becomes supressed...or maybe I'm just used to holding in my piss