Caffeine Addicts Get No Additional Perk, Only a Return To Baseline 506
Dthief writes "Bristol University researchers found that coffee drinkers develop a tolerance to both the anxiety-producing and the stimulating effects of caffeine, meaning that it only brings them back to baseline levels of alertness, not above them. 'Although frequent consumers feel alerted by caffeine, especially by their morning tea, coffee, or other caffeine-containing drink, evidence suggests that this is actually merely the reversal of the fatiguing effects of acute caffeine withdrawal,' wrote the scientists, led by Peter Rogers of Bristol's department of experimental psychology."
well GREAT (Score:5, Funny)
As I always say (Score:5, Funny)
I never touch coffee - it's a vile habit, especially when abused. Now that that's out of the way, barkeep, another pilsner please.
Much like violence, (Score:5, Funny)
Re:well GREAT (Score:5, Funny)
So either I have to use Red Bull's oddball sugar-enriched BS for a charge (which I'll probably build up a tolerance to), or seek out alternatives like - METH (it's what's for breakfast! Yummy mmmmmeth!).
At least, with the METH, you will have
a. better memory performance
b. less of a need to visit a dentist
Seems like a win/win!
Re:You can have my coffee... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:5, Funny)
As a former caffeine addict, I would *love* to see some serious studies come out describing the long term consequences to long term caffeine use. Of course, we'll never see that because there's more money behind caffeine than alcohol and tobacco, combined.
jjjjust look at-t me...
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, we start our life by getting out of one, and spend the rest trying to get back in there. Into any womb.
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Much like violence, (Score:1, Funny)
Another cup, another theorem.
Re:Except that (Score:4, Funny)
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:5, Funny)
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
This entire study is based on flawed semantics. (Score:4, Funny)
"Baseline" is properly defined as the levels of mental alertness and physiological activation when mediated by an appropriately-high level of serum caffeine. People fall below baseline because they're caffeine-deprived.
Don't think of it as a drug. Think of it as a vital metabolic nutrient. "Caffeine addicts" are addicts the same exact way that "protein addicts" and "vitamin C addicts" are.
I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine if I'm serious.
Re:well GREAT (Score:3, Funny)
Adderall is speed (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine), not meth. Meth is sold medically under the brand name Desoxyn but prescription is rare.
The More You Know!
Uh oh (Score:4, Funny)
Re:*GASP* (Score:3, Funny)
I don't believe it. Next you'll be telling me that smoking a cigarette doesn't actually calm me down, it just reverses the effects of nicotine withdraw!
Just go crazy. Sip your coffee through your still smoldering cigarette. Put some vodka in your coffee for the best effect of all 3 worlds.
Re:As I always say (Score:5, Funny)
Very good, sir. But this is a dry cleaning shop.
Isn't that a book? (Score:4, Funny)
The one we haven't heard about:
"Read the new book, Diuretics, by L. Ron Hubbard! It will change your life..."
Re:Much like violence, (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Much like violence, (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Sure they do... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:5, Funny)
As a caffeine addict in the US, I can say that I don't suffer from caffeine withdrawls. I'd have to stop drinking it first, and that's never going to happen.
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:1, Funny)
(as in,'habitually use,' not, 'strike')
Thank you for the clarification. Because abusing my cup of coffee by beating it with a stick is perfectly acceptable! As should beating my wife... I mean... what?
Re:Sustained effect (Score:5, Funny)
Man, have you ever sucked a dick for caffeine?
I don't think that's where coffee comes from...
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:5, Funny)
Who's there to greet you in the morning? Caffeine.
Who's there to keep you company through the day? Caffeine.
Who will take long road trips with you, without complaining about your driving? Caffeine.
Who will keep you company on a long night of programming without complaining that you aren't paying attention to them? Caffeine.
Who won't complain when you share your time with her sister, Nicotine? Caffeine.
I think you have a point there, sir. Caffeine is our true love.
Re:Much like violence, (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, but who has $300 to spend on coffee? Not Zoidberg!
Re:well GREAT (Score:2, Funny)
Love the username / subject matter combination.
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:5, Funny)
Isn't this slashdot? I can say with some certainty that women do not, in fact, exist.
Re:well GREAT (Score:4, Funny)
Hey! You know the rules: The first rule of Secret Science Club is you do not talk about Secret Science Club...
Re:Sustained effect (Score:4, Funny)
I have a friend that says you need to hang out in an alley behind a Starbucks.
Placebo (Score:4, Funny)
For one week, I switched the coffee in our lab coffee club to decaf... nobody noticed. The one "proud" coffee addict even asked one day if I was making it stronger, while putting on an act of being over-stimulated.
There are ~10 people who use that machine. Seriously. Not one of them noticed they were drinking decaf for a week.
*sigh
Re:As I always say (Score:3, Funny)
Re:well GREAT (Score:5, Funny)
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:5, Funny)
I believe it's called 'homeostasis.'
Sometimes defined as "balancing homos within the system."
Re:Much like violence, (Score:3, Funny)
Once again the sandwich heavy portfolio works out for the hungry investor.
Re:A return to baseline... (Score:0, Funny)
Could you please tell me what do you usually drink? I can't live with just water :(
Tequila. Took a while for my boss to get used to the change, but now even he is contemplating switching out his morning coffee.
Re:The truth about caffeine (Score:3, Funny)
Develop an oatmeal habit to counter my caffeine habit? Well, okay, but first I'll have to read up on what oatmeal withdrawal is like.