Caffeine is widely discussed on the internet but I think there are key points which are not addressed. Please tell me what you think about each of them and if you have any evidence for or against each point.
>>PERMANENT DAMAGE FROM DEPENDENCE<<
It is widely believed that caffeine tolerance occurs because more adenosine receptors are created. However, this seems to be false:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1846425
>Experimental evidence and theoretical considerations indicate that up-regulation of adenosine receptors is not the mechanism of tolerance to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity.
We don't seem to know how the tolerance actually works. And with that comes a risk. Anabolic steroids for example permanently damage your natural testosterone production so when you cycle anabolic steroids just once in your life, the dependence causes permanent damage. Could there be a similar effect for caffeine, meaning once you become dependent your body will never fully recover?
>>HIGHER HIGHS LOWER LOWS<<
I heard the claim that caffeine causes higher highs and lower lows. While people become tolerant to caffeine within weeks, can it still be useful that way? Potentially you could make use of the higher highs during the day and at the same time benefit from the lower lows during the night for better sleep. Is there any evidence that caffeine actually leads to higher highs and lower lows? What I have read is that tolerance simply makes caffeine ineffective so that the only thing caffeine does in dependent users is combat tiredness and prevent withdrawal symptoms and if you want it to do anything else you have to cycle it.
Tolerance seems to make all the most effective nootropics pointless at best and counterproductive at worst. The only supplements with lasting efficacy and no risk for permanent damage seem to be those which do not directly affect endocrine and neurotransmitter systems, like creatine, which is basically just a nutrient.
>>PERMANENT DAMAGE FROM DEPENDENCE<<
It is widely believed that caffeine tolerance occurs because more adenosine receptors are created. However, this seems to be false:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1846425
>Experimental evidence and theoretical considerations indicate that up-regulation of adenosine receptors is not the mechanism of tolerance to caffeine-induced stimulation of locomotor activity.
We don't seem to know how the tolerance actually works. And with that comes a risk. Anabolic steroids for example permanently damage your natural testosterone production so when you cycle anabolic steroids just once in your life, the dependence causes permanent damage. Could there be a similar effect for caffeine, meaning once you become dependent your body will never fully recover?
>>HIGHER HIGHS LOWER LOWS<<
I heard the claim that caffeine causes higher highs and lower lows. While people become tolerant to caffeine within weeks, can it still be useful that way? Potentially you could make use of the higher highs during the day and at the same time benefit from the lower lows during the night for better sleep. Is there any evidence that caffeine actually leads to higher highs and lower lows? What I have read is that tolerance simply makes caffeine ineffective so that the only thing caffeine does in dependent users is combat tiredness and prevent withdrawal symptoms and if you want it to do anything else you have to cycle it.
Tolerance seems to make all the most effective nootropics pointless at best and counterproductive at worst. The only supplements with lasting efficacy and no risk for permanent damage seem to be those which do not directly affect endocrine and neurotransmitter systems, like creatine, which is basically just a nutrient.
