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I've recently started taking 200mg caffeine pills in the morning instead of coffee. A very cheap and easy way to boost energy in the morning, within about 15 minutes you really want to get out of bed, and no need to walk to the coffee machine. 200 pills are about $5, which is a lot cheaper than coffee.

I'll probably tone down the dose, because it's the equivalent of 3 espressos, which is a bit much. I would normally do a double espresso.

4 comments

I've used 200mg caffeine pills back in college, exactly for the purpose of waking up in the morning.

For me, the tolerance made the effect go away after a month or two. I could take a caffeine pill, and go back to sleep. I had to start taking two, then three, until one morning I took so many I was basically shaking from caffeine, yet I was still sleepy.

Maybe it was just me, though. Everyone's metabolism is different.

As I understand it the body pretty quickly gets used to caffeine use, then taking your typical amount just gets you to the same level you'd always be if you never had caffeine. I still drink coffee though.

I tend to see caffeine as in the long run mostly be useful to let you choose when you're alert rather than increasing total amount of time I'm alert. That can be useful if you get into a good groove of taking caffeine at the right time relative to when you need/want to be alert, but only if you're also disciplined about not taking it all the time.

I did something similar when I started working at my first job. I came into the office and had two of those pills out of habit. Then kept the jar sitting at my desk.

Just like you, I realised that perhaps it wasn't the best idea since I was just taking them out of habit, and I stopped. It took me a few weeks to return to normal, during which I had the weirdest sleep and eating patterns.

That sounds very unhealthy :) I try to remind myself that these are slightly dangerous things and I should stick to one per day.

Note:

If you drink more than three cups of coffee a day, you may need five to 10 times the amount of vitamin B1 than other people. That’s largely because you’ll excrete more of the nutrient through your kidneys and into your urine.

https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/808646...

I've thought of doing this before, but ended up sticking with coffee because there seem to be health benefits associated with drinking coffee that are not related to the caffeine itself (because the benefits show up for decaf drinkers too).

But more importantly, I just really enjoy drinking coffee. It's one pleasure in my daily ritual.

edit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5696634/

When I take it, I break a 200mg caffeine pill in 1/2 or 1/3 and take it couple hours apart. Seems to work better that way for me. I try to operate on only 100mg and occasionally take the second 100mg (remaining of the halved pill).

Also I find that eating a good meal with fats before taking caffeine works better for me. Otherwise I feel sleepy after caffeine.

Also, for faster absorption, I put it under my tongue and let it dissolve. That’s the fastest way to see the effects.