I don't consume energy drinks under normal circumstances. I save it for that once every 6-12 months when it's 11 PM and something critical needs to be done by SOB. With it I can get 4 hours of zone quite reliably. Then at 3 AM I crash, hard.
Unfortunately this isn't how caffeine works. Your body adjusts quickly to daily use. Any perceived increase of "boost" due to long term daily caffeine usage is mental. (Which probably has value for many people)
Except not exactly, because for some of us fast metabolisers, half life of caffeine can be less than 4h, meaning by fasting from 1600 to 0800, you are down to trace levels, and the body is reversing its tolerance.
I've done informal tests and steady state caffeine every day for a month is not the same as abstaining. You alleles, and hence mileage, may vary.
For poor metabolizers like me, caffeine has about a 12 hour half life and I can’t even sleep if I have a small dose in the morning. I know this is true because I’ve accidentally taken caffeine in various forms and it’s always 3am and I’m banging my head trying to figure out why I can’t sleep until I realize I had a chai tea or something without thinking.
In fact caffeine is a huge detriment to my ability to be productive, and the last time I quit coffee it took a full month and a half for the grogginess and lethargy to go away. Never again!
This is what convinces me caffeine is a drug and not a vitamin or nutrient. If I miss my daily vitamin I don’t even notice but if I miss my daily dose of caffeine it’s difficult for my brain to function on account of the inevitable withdrawal headache.
You would certainly notice if you missed some essential vitamins. The modern diet is just good enough to get you enough of all of them without too much effort.
Alternative hypothesis: Vitamins have a longer half-life in your body, therefore missing a dose does not cause the concentration in your body to drop as quickly.
I’m a poor metabolizer of caffeine and actually it’s far worse when it’s a long half life. I literally can’t sleep until 4am if I drink tea in the morning.
From Robin Hanson's "The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth"(2016):
> Today, people who are seen as “workaholics” tend to make more money, to be male, and to focus their socializing on scheduled times such as holidays. They also tend rise early to work alone and they often use stimulants (Kemeny 2002[0]; Currey 2013[1]).
[0]: Kemeny, Anna. 2002. “Driven to Excel: A Portrait of Canada’s Workaholics.” Canadian Social Trends 64, March 11.
[1]: Currey, Mason. 2013. Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. Knopf, April 23.
I work in a fairly demanding work environment and have a big family and always thought this. But I found out I could do without caffeine. I replaced it with lifting weights four times a week and cardio 3 times a week. I sleep better, no longer drink alcohol.
It is nice to drink coffee of course. But I think it comes at a hidden cost. I feel much less stressed out now and I am more efficient at work too.
So perhaps you can try it out for just a month? Drinking no coffee and see how you feel?
I also went down the path for harder drugs, modafinil even speed for a while. But in the end it is not worth it.
