Should I use caffeine?

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qwert876

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I quit drinking caffeine and soda all together 2.5 years ago.

Do you guys think it would be beneficial to start drinking caffeine to help with studying and paying attention in lectures?
 
I WISH I could get off the caffeine. It's annoying to literally have to consider whether I will have access to adequate sources of caffeine during prolonged studying...and that headache that comes on around 11:00 a.m. if I don't have any...makes a hangover feel like a thai massage.
 
CAFFEINE MADNESS
 
qwert876 said:
I quit drinking caffeine and soda all together 2.5 years ago.

Do you guys think it would be beneficial to start drinking caffeine to help with studying and paying attention in lectures?
Click to expand...

No. You will find that you'll start needing more and more. Caffeine will cause all sorts of problems. I think every single time I've injured myself in the gym was when I was in a caffeine phase. They give me the weirdest back/neck pains and dehydrate me to the point where I wake up the next day with my throat dry and my eyes incredibly dry and crusty. They also cause headaches. The only reason caffeine helped me was because it made me feel like happier.

If you have stopped, I would suggest you stay off. Every now and then it's ok to have a dark roast at 3 pm or maybe at 6 am when you're in a little bit of a daze. Everything in moderation though.

Also, have you tried drinking lots of water whenever you're feeling fatigued. I know this sounds so "holier than thou" and lame but this is coming from someone who's struggled with focus my whole life: Sometimes if I'm struggling to stay away and my whole body is aching and like start involuntarily falling asleep I have this 16 oz water bottle. I'll like drink the entire thing and do like 40 pull ups while listening to some music. It can be a quite a picker upper and for me, the key is developing the momentum to get started.

Good luck!


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As long as you're not drinking a Starbucks Venti blonde roast just to get out of bed, I don't see a problem with drinking a cup or two of coffee while studying.


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Caffeine is a tool...it's up to you to use it effectively.
Personally, I find that using it as a daily habit is ineffective. You move your baseline, but all you've really changed is that now your body expects you to supply it with caffeine regularly.
However, after spending too long thinking caffeine was bad for you (it's not) and avoiding it, I eventually realized that it can be incredibly useful in those situations where you're not going to go to bed or nap or whatever, period because you need to get work done (or drive somewhere), etc. I also use it when it's not going to affect my sleep schedule at all, but I want to be especially productive (there is evidence that rather than just restoring you to baseline, caffeine can improve function.) In those cases, caffeine can be incredibly helpful. So my strategy is to use caffeine sparingly so that it remains effective and enables me to be more productive at the schedule I have already chosen, rather than basing my schedule on the expectation that I will need caffeine to complete it.

For me, the best solution was caffeine pills because then I can treat it like what it is: an intentional decision to take a known quantity of a medication that affects me in a predictable way. I typically only find myself using it maybe once a week or so, so it is still very effective. For example, today I needed to get a lot of work done, so I had 100mg (about half of a small Starbucks drip) in the afternoon while I camped in the library. Plus, it's cheaper this way (for the price of a fancy Starbucks drink I can get 30-60 doses) and more portable...you can keep a few tabs in your pocket for an unexpected situation, but a cup of hot water is a bit trickier to have 'always ready.'
 
Backtothebasics8 said:
Also, have you tried drinking lots of water whenever you're feeling fatigued. I know this sounds so "holier than thou" and lame but this is coming from someone who's struggled with focus my whole life: Sometimes if I'm struggling to stay away and my whole body is aching and like start involuntarily falling asleep I have this 16 oz water bottle. I'll like drink the entire thing and do like 40 pull ups while listening to some music. It can be a quite a picker upper and for me, the key is developing the momentum to get started.

Good luck!
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

WOW. No joke. I'm the same way. I had a hard time staying awake through undergrad. I only found this remedy through my time in the Army where they're literally forcing you to drink water every ten minutes.
 
jd989898 said:
Wow a lot of wimps in this thread. The only side effect of caffeine is greatness. Most people could tolerate 600-800mg per day very well.
Click to expand...
Sure, but what you can tolerate and what you need to function well are different things. And if you aren't taking it daily, then when crunch time hits and you go for that 800mg, you're golden.
 
mehc012 said:
Caffeine is a tool...it's up to you to use it effectively.
Personally, I find that using it as a daily habit is ineffective. You move your baseline, but all you've really changed is that now your body expects you to supply it with caffeine regularly.
However, after spending too long thinking caffeine was bad for you (it's not) and avoiding it, I eventually realized that it can be incredibly useful in those situations where you're not going to go to bed or nap or whatever, period because you need to get work done (or drive somewhere), etc. I also use it when it's not going to affect my sleep schedule at all, but I want to be especially productive (there is evidence that rather than just restoring you to baseline, caffeine can improve function.) In those cases, caffeine can be incredibly helpful. So my strategy is to use caffeine sparingly so that it remains effective and enables me to be more productive at the schedule I have already chosen, rather than basing my schedule on the expectation that I will need caffeine to complete it.

For me, the best solution was caffeine pills because then I can treat it like what it is: an intentional decision to take a known quantity of a medication that affects me in a predictable way. I typically only find myself using it maybe once a week or so, so it is still very effective. For example, today I needed to get a lot of work done, so I had 100mg (about half of a small Starbucks drip) in the afternoon while I camped in the library. Plus, it's cheaper this way (for the price of a fancy Starbucks drink I can get 30-60 doses) and more portable...you can keep a few tabs in your pocket for an unexpected situation, but a cup of hot water is a bit trickier to have 'always ready.'
Click to expand...
Are there differences between caffeine high you get from pills vs coffee? I'm thinking of doing this myself but I'm very sensitive to caffeine, I already measure out how much coffee I drink (80mL coffee is enough to give me a good jolt).
 
ronnicus said:
Are there differences between caffeine high you get from pills vs coffee? I'm thinking of doing this myself but I'm very sensitive to caffeine, I already measure out how much coffee I drink (80mL coffee is enough to give me a good jolt).
Click to expand...
I don't drink coffee...some of my coffee drinking friends said it was the same, some said different but they were also the type to have a huge bias just from the "omg caffeine pill so intense" factor.

Sent from my phone, sorry for any typos or brevity.
 
qwert876 said:
I quit drinking caffeine and soda all together 2.5 years ago.

Do you guys think it would be beneficial to start drinking caffeine to help with studying and paying attention in lectures?
Click to expand...

I wrote in one of my posts about how I think if a med student isn't drinking large coffees then he or she isn't working hard enough, and took massive criticism for it. You will get lots of people telling you to avoid the coffee culture, and that's fine. People have the right to their opinions. But I believe if one is sleeping enough hours that he or she doesn't drink coffee in med school, then he or she isn't studying hard enough. I think I got less sleep in med school than the majority of my colleagues and always found the instant coffee at the staff/student lounge before pre-rounds.
 
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Like you, I quit caffeinated beverages about 2 years ago. Tried it again last month, but now it just gives me a headache and makes me feel jittery. YMMV
 
My brother published some research a while back on caffeine improving your memory, so I'd vote yes.
 
This seemed like a pretty dramatic post OP.

I sure hope this wasn't your biggest worry starting, otherwise medical school will be pretty difficult for you if it is.
 
5 hour every hour. That's how I got through step 1 studying.

You could also try creatine monohydrate supplementation (at lower doses than what is used for exercise). There is some literature that supports its use to reduce cognitive fatigue. I used it during second year and felt it helped out a lot
 
You guys are ridiculous. "It gives me weird headaches. I got weird neck and back pain from it". This isn't a naturopathic convention.

Easily increases both my retention and focus during lecture. Simple.
 
save it for intern year

-an intern
 
Oh the types medicine attracts. Takig caffeine pills by the mg at regular intervals, body aches from coffee, Jesus ****ing Christ.

If tired, have a cup of coffee or two. It's a little hypocritical to expect your patients to take any of the medicines you will be prescribing if the idea of a little caffeine makes you **** your pants.
 
Picked up coffee on my surgery rotation, went from needing >8 hours of sleep to <6. It feels like there is so much more time in the day now
 
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Gorne said:
Oh the types medicine attracts. Takig caffeine pills by the mg at regular intervals, body aches from coffee, Jesus ****ing Christ.

If tired, have a cup of coffee or two. It's a little hypocritical to expect your patients to take any of the medicines you will be prescribing if the idea of a little caffeine makes you **** your pants.
Click to expand...
What if every time i have a cup I literally do **** my pants....

I'm serious I can not have a cup without having to dedicate 30-40 minutes on the toilet
 
I don't think it will necessarily be beneficial but if you feel like you need it I wouldn't avoid it altogether. I don't personally drink coffee but sometimes will have a green tea for a pick me up, maybe start there and see how you feel?
 
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