r/Xennials • u/floating_bells_down • 18h ago
Caffeine
Do I need to be prepared for the diminished effects of coffee? Why isn't it waking me up anymore?
-millennial
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u/supergooduser 17h ago
Totally unscientific.
I have my daily coffee, but on the weekends I skip it if I get a chance to sleep in. That one or two day break each week feels like a pretty good "reset"
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u/dequiallo 17h ago
yeah but if you drink it after like 5pm good luck getting any sleep.
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u/JollyJeanGiant83 16h ago
So I don't know if it's a qualifying symptom, but all the people I know who can drink coffee and take a nap right after, have ended up diagnosed with ADHD. Including me!
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u/dequiallo 16h ago
I have been diagnosed multiple times, I'm just wildly unmedicated.
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u/HalfFrozenSpeedos 7h ago
why though?
unmedicated life for me was HELL
I take my Vyvanse/Elvanse every day and I'm at least semi focused and productive (most of the time anyway, still get "SQUIRREL" days)5
u/Slim_Margins1999 16h ago
This is me. Caffeine can help me, it can also do nothing and I’ll be asleep45 minutes after trying to take some to wake up
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u/Admirable_Average_32 15h ago
I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, nor do I think I have it, but it doesn’t matter when I drink coffee or energy drinks. When its time for bed, nothing keeps me up except my phone.
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u/HalfFrozenSpeedos 7h ago
2 cans of monster energy and I literally CANNOT stay awake, its literally like I've been slipped a potent sedative
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u/esocharis 17h ago
I can drink a monster at 9 and be asleep by 11 lol
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u/ashurbanipal420 16h ago
I finished my third large coffee of the day at 930 last night and I was fighting to stay awake during a movie at 12.
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u/kheret 16h ago
I can too and this might mean we have ADHD. (I dunno cause I’m a girl and girls didn’t have that back then.)
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u/HalfFrozenSpeedos 7h ago
they are discovering more and more folks have ADHD, as we were never diagnosed as we weren't running around into walls or disrupting lessons, I got diagnosed at 40 after having to argue my case.....turns out I'm WAY over the diagnostic cut off line. I'm AMAB and no one spotted it at all.
Right wing press - <ASSHATS> WARN OF DELUGE OF SHIFTLESS, ILDE, LAYABOUT, WORKSHY MILLENIALS CLAIMING TO HAVE SO CALLED "ADHD" TO CLAIM DISABILTY BENEFITS
Subheading - ALSO SEEKING DANGEROUS EXPERIMENTAL MIND ALTERING DRUGS TO GET HIGH- UGH I need a shower......in domestos now...
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u/Illustrated-skies 15h ago
Noon is my cutoff. Anything after that and I’m automatically wide awake til 5 am. I’m way too old for all nighters! Unfortunately this means I can never have a chocolate dessert in the evening.
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u/LoveYouNotYou 17h ago
Psshh... I drink it like it's chamomile tea lol. Does absolutely nothing for me. I go right to sleep.
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u/dequiallo 17h ago
Thats the weird thing. I can pound a coffee or monster and sleep until noon. Drink it after 4 or 5pm? Welcome to an all nighter.
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u/LoveYouNotYou 14h ago
Every body is different lol. My sister will legit be jittery if drinking coffee after 8pm. I'll have a Dunkalatté with an expresso shot in the am, then I'll make another coffee run to Dunkin on my way home after work (8pm) and treat that as my little "me time" then go to bed. But not everyday, sometimes I'm "royal" and have green tea with my pinky up lol
Might be something wrong with me but I'm ok with that
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u/LazarusDark 15h ago
On weekends I have a cup of espresso about an hour before bed, helps me sleep better. I don't do it in the week because I like the calming ritual of making/drinking coffee in the morning (the caffeine does nothing to me), and also my stomach doesn't like coffee twice in 12 hours.
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u/Gab83IMO 17h ago
I contribute my lack of energy from caffeine to the fact that I'm over 40. As we age, our Nitric Oxide (NO) concentrations in the body start to fall significantly, up to 50% less than in your 20s. NO is the primary signaling molecule that tells your body to relax or constrict the blood vessels, maintaining blood pressure, immune and brain functions, heart health and nervous system communication, among other things. So when it starts to go down, so do you (wow, I sounded like an advil slogan). There are many NO supplements, but good exersice helps along with a nitrogen rich diet. I add dried beets to my shake to cover the flavor, but it still tastes like dirt.
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u/Xiunte 17h ago
"When your nitirc oxide levels start to go down, so do you (actor pretending to be tired). That's why there's all new Booflipnopril (imagine of a giant capsule breaking through clouds, actor is now happy and energetic again). Ask you doctor if Booflipnopril is right for you."
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u/Moist-Golf-8339 17h ago
*10 years later
"Did you or a loved one take Booflipnopril? If so, call the law offices of Worthinghouse, Smith, and Schultz."
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u/larryjrich 16h ago
Yes, I have so much less energy now compared to my 20s even though I diet, exercise, and try to get plenty of sleep. It's just a part of aging. I know we used to make jokes about old people going to bed at like 7pm but it's the truth. The older we get the more rest we need for recovery.
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u/Bacch 16h ago
Meanwhile I'm sleeping less than I ever have. I run on 5-6 hours a night most nights. Sometimes I bank on weekends and get 10-12, but that's maybe every other week for one night. Used to be I was useless on less than 8.
The only thing caffeine is good for anymore is getting rid of a headache (which I probably got because I didn't have my caffeine to begin with).
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u/HalfFrozenSpeedos 7h ago
actually.....elderly people sleep less and less as they aged, its why many can go to bed at 10 or 11pm and still be up at 4am or earlier and feel refreshed
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u/S_A_R_K 14h ago
Sounds like I should do some whippits
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u/HalfFrozenSpeedos 7h ago
I heart my ADHD meds, they about the only thing that makes me feel awake, otherwise I LITERALLY feel sedated
However if I drink say 2 energy drinks back to back, I don't get hyper, instead its like I've been tranquilised...I literally cannot keep my eyes open and its like trying to think through mud...
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u/shankapotomus2 1h ago
This!!! I’m 43 and finally getting on meds. I was diagnosed at 10, and never took my meds. I was telling my doc today how like a blind person wants to see, I truly want to know what it feels like to have an energy hit. A cup of coffee in the morning will put me back to sleep. There is something in the ADHD mind for some, that prevents our body from getting that energy
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u/tuberlord 17h ago
I've noticed it works better when I get enough rest in the first place. Just like with booze I find myself consuming less of it than I used to.
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u/NotAnAIBought 16h ago
Caffeine after little to no rest doesn’t wake me up, it makes me feel disassociated with reality.
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u/pornAndMusicAccount 13h ago
I get super jittery. Same if I’m at all hungover. Coffee is about the last thing I want.
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u/byte_handle 17h ago
You're developing a tolerance to caffeine. You'll need to up your intake in order to get the same effects. Which will build your tolerance further, requiring more to get the same effects, which will build your tolerance further...
It's an energy treadmill.
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u/mouse6502 17h ago
I drink coffee.
So I can work longer.
So I can earn more.
So I can drink more coffee.
So I can work longer.
So I can earn more.
So I can drink more coffee.
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u/bluemitersaw 13h ago
I've heard this joke but it was cocaine.
I do coke so I can work more hours and make more money so I can buy more coke!!! Twitch twitch WOOOOO!!!!
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u/ParticularBed6338 17h ago
I don’t drink caffeine everyday, but when I do it’s like I’m stealing tomorrow’s energy. It’s an endless cycle if you let it be.
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u/ButterscotchAware402 17h ago
Caffeine has never had any effect on me but I'll drink it until I can't regardless.
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u/Bird_Herder 17h ago
I'll get withdrawal headaches if I don't drink any for a day or two, but it doesn't keep me awake or alert. I used to keep a bottle of Mountain Dew by my bed.
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u/Bacch 16h ago
I used to drink Dr. Pepper like it was going out of style. Like since my 20s. A few years ago I wound up with gout.
I quit my 5+ soda a day habit, cut back on beer, and in the span of 6 months I dropped 30 pounds and two pant sizes and haven't had a gout flare-up again. I suspect the amounts I was consuming was starting to cause longer-term damage to my circulation. I allow myself one diet soda a day now (and let's be fair, I do cheat and have a regular soda now and again). It's been 3 years now and I've kept the weight off, so that's an added bonus.
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u/Zsirhcz1981 17h ago
Over the last couple of years, my daily caffeine consumption has more than doubled.
I used to be 1 coffee black in the morning and one diet soda with lunch and a lot of water.
Now it’s coffee, zero-carb energy drink, diet soda lunch, afternoon coffee, diet soda dinner. Sometimes I slip in a second energy drink too…
45 years old and feel like I need to be max caffeinated at all times to stay alert and sharp all day.
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u/whatthepinche 16h ago
I saw the headline and immediately thought of a rave I went to in 2002 called “Caffeine” 😂 core memory unlocked! That’s where I first tried “White Rhinos” ecstasy lmfao…good times!
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u/shiftdown 17h ago
Have you tired speed?
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u/no____thisispatrick 17h ago
Are you perhaps a person entering perimenopause?
It started for me around 41, and the fatigue was insane and I didn't know anything about perimenopause.
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u/Apprehensive_Map64 17h ago
You need real coffee now, espresso. Not that watered down stuff.
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 16h ago
Doesn't a serving of espresso have less caffeine? (because the beans are a darker roast) Espresso only has two advantages for caffeine: the higher concentration per-volume means you drink it faster, so it can hit more intensely, and possibly also a more rapid oral absorbtion
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u/Apprehensive_Map64 16h ago
Yeah and a single is ridiculously tiny I serve doubles as is proper with one scoop. I have three of those every day. If I have a fourth I won't be falling asleep before 1am
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u/Searchlights 17h ago
When that happens that's biology's way of telling me I need to cut back.
I drink a cup in the morning and a cup in the afternoon. From time to time my intake ramps way up from there and I'm pounding energy drinks all over the place.
When the tolerance catches up, it's time to dry out and start over.
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u/dudly825 17h ago
I got more sensitive to it. Got to be careful now. If I go a 1/2 cup too far I get weird and jittery. Never used to happen.
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u/Ippus_21 17h ago
Probably less an age thing and more of a tolerance thing.
If you consume caffeine regularly, you just develop a tolerance and the effects are less pronounced.
You can reset it by coming off caffeine for a while, but you will experience some withdrawal symptoms, esp if you just stop altogether. Mostly headaches and fatigue (I know I get some absolutely vicious headaches for a few days if I decide to take a break).
So, maybe don't do that unless you can work "being less than functional for 2-3 days" into your schedule. Give it about 10 days for the effects to fully clear your system and then resume with smaller doses.
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u/esocharis 17h ago
Caffeine has never got me wired, but def helped perk me up a little when I was younger, and I drank a ton of it. I could straight chug those small cans of Red Bull when it first came out like nothing. I can still drink a Monster or whatever at night and have no issue sleeping. Lately I tend to nurse an energy drink all morning and through lunch to keep the caffeine headache at bay, but it doesnt really get me "up" anymore.
I really should just suck it up and dry out a few days to lose the habit altogether, but winners dont quit!
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u/NoContextCarl 16h ago
I mean, it works you just have to cycle on/off. Most make the mistake of just upping their caffeine to absurd levels...starts with a coffee or two in morning and next thing you its a large quad espresso in morning, a Bang energy at lunch and a few Red Bulls in the afternoon. Healthwise it's not sustainable.
Just drink it in moderation, take a break here and there so you aren't wrecking your health and don't build a crazy tolerance to it.
Usually I'll do 3 days on, 4 days off.
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 16h ago
You've acclimated to it. I don't drink caffiene regularly (average of 1-2 drinks a week tops) and it definitely still wires me up. But in my 20s I drank much more and it had less of an effect then.
If you spend some time weaning off of it, it should return to efficacy. (it'll be rough at first, and don't go cold turkey) Also don't use caffeine as a regular daily or it'll lose the effect again.
See: Caffeine dependence
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u/digawina 17h ago
If you happen to have ADHD, or suspect you may, being sleepy after drinking coffee is a sign. It was my first "Oooooohhh!!!!" moment about it when my doctor told me that. Coffee calms me. I can drink coffee and take a nap. We give my ADHD child chocolate covered coffee beans before his drum lessons so he can better concentrate.
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u/Gemini_writer8 17h ago
I came here to suggest ADHD because I have it. I drink coffee for the taste. It doesn't really wake me up no matter how much I have it or the time of day. Of course I did just notice someone mentioning it not being as effective if you're dehydrated. I am also definitely dehydrated.
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u/fromthedarqwaves 17h ago
Probably dehydrated. Caffeine works better if you’re hydrated. I don’t know if that’s true but I like to say it.
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 16h ago
Most everything in the body works better when we're well-hydrated, so you're not wrong.
However it's not a panacea, so don't over-do it.
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u/Epicardiectomist 17h ago
put down the cup and free yourself from the shackles. The shift will be rough, but after your body regulates you won't be chained to addiction any longer.
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u/Logical-Cherry9395 17h ago
If you're noticing an increasing tolerance for caffeine, you need to cut back on it or stop entirely. May the gods be with you during that withdrawal.
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u/don51181 17h ago
Caffeine definitely has stopped working for me as much. I had to get more disciplined with my sleep schedule to help have better mornings.
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u/buppiejc 17h ago
I’ve been a 1 - 1.5 cups a day person for the past two decades. No tolerance build-up. What works for me is coffee Monday - Friday, and none on the weekend.
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u/DuranDourand 17h ago
I’m 45 and have about 5 cups a day. 3 in the morning and two in the afternoon. I could probably drink a cup before bed and go right to sleep. While in the military I drank so many of those energy drinks I might have broken my caffeine receptors.
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u/IvenaDarcy 17h ago
Appreciate it once was an upper for you. Uppers have always made me tired. I can take a shot of espresso and go right to bed. A line of cocaine (not that I would do that at my age but once upon a time) and even if my heart was racing my mind was ready to sleep. Later in life I was told it was probably ADHD so I tried Adderall and Wellbutrin (separate and together) and I couldn’t get up off the couch.
Maybe as some get older they get whatever it is I’ve had all my life? I have a fast metabolism (been skinny my whole life even when I try hard to gain weight) but doubt that’s why. Who knows what it is. Good news is I have energy it’s just when I try to take the things others do for more energy it has reverse effect. All my bloodwork is good so doesn’t seem to be thyroid, glucose or anything medical. Just some bodies function different than others.
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u/Psychological_Buy726 17h ago
I find caffeine, nicotine and reefer to be best when you combine all three? Smoke em, if ya got em. Tip your glass up til you see the bottom. And have another round on me!
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u/cmgww 17h ago
I feel like it still has some effect, a good example was today I had to fast until 10:30 AM for a blood draw. I definitely noticed being a little tired this morning, but my caffeine comes in the form of Coke zero and not coffee. I'm also getting to the age where I have to cut it off by noon or 1 PM at the latest or I don't get to sleep on time. I have battled anxiety and lately it has crept up again so I've backed off the caffeine and just kept it to one Coke zero in the morning instead of my usual two or three.
But I think with anything, we can build a tolerance.... to a point.
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u/truthrises 17h ago
Caffeine fixes the feeling of tiredness, it doesn't actually give your brain and muscles rest. For it to work, you have to get a reasonable amount of rest at some point.
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u/Minute-Yogurt-2021 17h ago
I haven't drank coffee for years now, only decaf and I learned to wake up with brown water only.
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u/bassman314 17h ago
I took theophylline as a kid for asthma.
Caffeine and theophylline differ by only a methyl group.
I was sort of immune to caffeine until about 5 years ago, when it started affecting my sleep if I drank it in the afternoons. I try to avoid it.
It definitely still wakes me up in the mornings.
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u/sundayfunday78 17h ago
Obviously caffeine affects me somehow - I do not function well without my morning cup o’joe. As long as I get that one cup I’m good. Without it I drag my ass all day. Any caffeine I consume throughout the day has little impact, or at least measurably so.
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u/Straight-Peach1854 17h ago
Do you drink coffee on an empty stomach? Try having some fiber and protein in your stomach before the coffee. Much better results :)
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u/Federal_Homework1302 17h ago
41 here.
My average is about 4 espressos and 2-3 redbulls a day. So im not the person to talk to. There is also a thing about how the ADHD brain handles caffine that makes it calm me/slow me down than its normal intended purpose.
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u/JollyJeanGiant83 16h ago
Also have your blood levels checked. My husband addressed his vitamin D deficit and he's a whole new person.
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u/CheesyRomantic 16h ago
It's not as effective as it used to be, but I will definitely feel it if I don't have any.
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u/SadAcanthocephala521 16h ago
Coffee just blocks the effects of adenosine. Adenosine is a chemical that accumulates in the brain from being awake. Enough of it builds and it makes you sleepy, sleep is the on thing that diminishes it. Coffee temporarily blocks it. The levels of adenosine keeps building in the back ground and once the effects of the coffee diminishes the adenosine is still going to be there triggering sleepiness.
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u/OreoSoupIsBest 16h ago
I've gotten crazy sensitive to caffeine. Like, I can't even think about drinking coffee after noon or I'm going to be up all night.
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u/Alexandratta 16h ago
Worse: it starts to do the wrong things over time - ie: Your mind doesn't really wake up anymore but your body does... so you take more caffeine - and it keeps getting worse until you drink enough to cause yourself to have a cardiac event.
I know from experience! =D
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u/TheConsoleGeek 15h ago
I gave up all caffeine several years ago. One of the best things I've done. I sleep better, I have more energy, and I don't need any pick me up in the mornings anymore.
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u/International_Bit478 15h ago
It’s almost 11am. I had an espresso and a monster this morning and I’m ready for a nap.
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u/wherewulf23 14h ago
I have the opposite problem. If I have caffeine after noon I’ll be up all night.
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u/KevinDuckworthsTaint 13h ago
I don’t consume caffeine. Maybe 2-3 Red Bulls a year if I’m on a long road trip.
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u/_sacrosanct 6h ago
I just keep increasing the dosages. I do 20 oz of black coffee in the morning. Then at around lunch time I usually have either a Liquid IV Energy water or a Ghost Energy drink.
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u/_User_name_007_ 50m ago
I stopped drinking coffee years ago and now I only drink tea. Tea gives me what I would call clean energy in the morning. I don’t crash later and I don’t get jittery, hungry, and agitated like coffee was making me.
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u/rjcpl 17h ago edited 17h ago
Coffee is just burnt bitter bean juice to me so I’ve never picked up the habit. Though I did go through some caffeine withdrawal when I gave up soda in my 20s. No problem staying awake, just the getting up in the morning part where I’m wanting to hit snooze over and over now with 50 right around the corner.
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u/Individual-Copy9425 17h ago
I have to check my thyroid a couple times a year. Any health things for you need checking in before deciding it’s the caffeine that’s not helping as much?