Remember that drink I invented yesterday? (oc)

[u/DaveKellett]

COME for the acrid taste, but STAY for the lack of caffeine!

[u/Bananplyte]

Hello! Swedish guy working in IT with coffee available 24/7.

The reason caffeine might not have an effect on you could be that your brain has gotten wise to your addiction and adapted by changing how its Adenosine system works.

One of the ways your brain keeps track of how long you've been awake is through a substance called adenosine. The longer you're awake, the more adenosine builds up and the sleepier you tend to get. This is picked up by little things called receptors that basically tell your brain that you're getting a bit tired and maybe it's time to chill out.

The reason caffeine is fun is that it essentially just blocks these receptors so that the adenosine can't do its thing. You don't get a bunch of extra energy, you just feel less sleepy than you otherwise would.

Your brain does catch on pretty quickly though. If you're constantly clogging these receptors with caffeine, your brain starts getting wise to your scheme. This can involve changes in the adenosine system, including changes in how many receptors are available or how sensitive they are.

Now, if you suddenly stop drinking coffee, all that adenosine is back to doing its thing without caffeine getting in the way. This is why quitting often makes you feel like absolute garbage for a while. It usually gets better within a few days to about a week.

So if caffeine doesn't really do much for you, you might just have built up a pretty serious tolerance. Or you might just be built different.

You probably are just very addicted, like me, your most humble fellow IT caffeine-fiend.

[u/icedteaandtacos → u/Bananplyte]

No some people are genuinely just built different.

I can drink 3+ cups of coffee a day everyday and never feels the caffeine and then the next week never have one cup and I feel the exact same. No withdrawals or anything.

Some people just really aren’t affected by caffeine. I know about half the time drink decaf because what’s the point of having meaningless caffeine.

[u/timbotheny26 → u/icedteaandtacos]

No some people are genuinely just built different.

Some people just really aren’t affected by caffeine.

E.g. folks with ADHD.

[u/icedteaandtacos → u/timbotheny26]

Nope, I also don’t have ADHD.

[u/timbotheny26 → u/icedteaandtacos]

I didn't say you did, I was giving it as an example of people being "built different".

[u/icedteaandtacos → u/timbotheny26]

Ah I see.

[u/timbotheny26 → u/icedteaandtacos]

My bad - I'll adjust it to be more clear.

[u/icedteaandtacos → u/timbotheny26]

Nah you’re good.

[u/timbotheny26 → u/icedteaandtacos]

Oh...welp, too late.

[u/Bananplyte → u/icedteaandtacos]

> Or you might just be built different.

I did write this

[u/novus_nl → u/Bananplyte]

It could be, i'm not a doctor, although I have to say coffee never did something for me. The only reason I start drinking coffee (and took a liking to it) is because my grandmother thought I should drink coffee as that is the social norm here. (with a lot of sugar and milk, which I dropped later on).

It never helped me stay awake for example with studying or after a rough night to 'boost the morning'

[u/HugoTRB → u/Bananplyte]

I do believe a reason why coffee is so popular here in Sweden and similar places is that you can create a fake day night cycle with it, which is useful when the regular one is so varied.