I’m wondering about something a bit beyond the simple “what’s the maximum dose not to exceed?”. We all know that caffeine, consumed wisely, has a very favorable benefit/risk ratio: improved focus, energy boost, better athletic performance, and even some suggested long- term health benefits from studies.

So my question is: for a healthy adult male, what would be the ideal quantity of caffeine in milligrams (mg) per day to maximize benefits (focus, energy, well-being) while minimizing downsides (anxiety, poor sleep, jitters)?

I’m not looking for the dose to pull an all-nighter or break a record, but really the “cruising” dose for optimal daily health and productivity.

      • MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 个月前

        Great point about half-life, but there’s also huge genetic variation - some people with CYP1A2 gene variants metabolize caffeine up to 4x faster than others, which is why some can have an espresso before bed while others get jittery from a small cup in the morning.

      • Alfredolin@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        1·
        2 个月前

        I think your physical activity have an influence on the metabolizing of coffeine.

        Source: me. I have noticed a late coffee will more likely mess my sleep if I did not move my ass in the afternoon. Might also simply be the lack of physical activity though.

      • 9point6@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        2 个月前

        Yeah I took into account a 5h half life, I’m a tall guy haha

        Well I did, but messed up something else. It’s more like a coffee every 2h or so for me

        3mg/kg for me is about 350mg, so if I’ve not messed up the maths a 2nd time, I’d need to smash 4 coffees in the morning to get up to that level and then one every 2h30 to sustain

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      4·
      2 个月前

      This is just a paper on the effect of 3mg/kg on esports skills, it’s literally the first sentence of the abstract. It has nothing to do with finding an optimal dose.

      • 9point6@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 个月前

        Oh sorry, I thought it came across in my delivery I wasn’t being serious that people should do this

        • teawrecks@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          1·
          2 个月前

          Heh I missed that you said “per hour” at the end, not per day. I should have caught that.

  • squaresinger@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    2 个月前

    The biggest issue with this is that caffeine has a strong habituation effect.

    That means, if you consume the same amount of caffeine each day, it only takes between 1 and 3 weeks to get to a point where the caffeine does nothing for you. And what’s even worse is that if you then stop using caffeine, you get basically an opposite caffeine effect, meaning you are more tired than if you had never used caffeine at all.

    That’s why so many coffee- or energy-drink-drinkers say they can’t start the day without caffeine. Because they are habituated to their caffeine intake, and if they don’t have their coffee/red bull/black tea/… they literally crash and are much more tired than if they never used caffeine in the firsst place.

    So if you want to have any positive effect of caffeine you have to cycle it: use caffeine for a few days, then don’t use it for a few days to make sure you don’t get habituated to it.

  • AnimalsDream@slrpnk.netEnglish
    42·
    2 个月前

    1-2 cups, all consumed before noon to minimize risk of sleep problems. Mix green tea with it, which reduces the jitters by balancing the caffeine with l-theanine which has a mild calming effect.

    Green coffee has the highest levels of antioxidants and related phytonutrients, so if you can find a way to brew that feasibly, you’d likely be getting the greatest health benefits.

    Some studies have found that one of the fats in coffee beans can increase cholesterol levels, and the effect depends on how you brew it. If you brew using a paper filter, the fat gets filtered out and there appears to be no cholesterol risk with this method.

    Alternatively, tea in and of itself is also a great choice. I start every day with a 50 oz french press full of a half and half mix of green and black tea, with half a teaspoon each of turmeric and amla powder added. All the benefits, none of the downsides.

  • Nefara@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 个月前

    For me, a 32oz pot of black tea brewed for 5-6 minutes consumed at least 12 hours before I go to bed does the trick. It gets me going and takes away the fog, and when I’m following the timing rule it doesn’t mess with my sleep at all.

    However, people have all sorts of tolerance and sensitivity levels to caffeine, as well as individual reactions, body chemistry etc, it’s probably something you will have to experiment with to find the right balance for you.

  • blarghly@lemmy.worldEnglish
    21·
    2 个月前

    I drink 3 scoops of Folgers per day, so I’d say that’s about optimal.

    Seriously, this isn’t something science is gonna help you with. Just tool around and play it by ear. Caffeine is a pretty mild drug, so its benefits will be mild, as will its detriments. Afaik, there is no significant negative impact to caffeine intake beyond just poor sleep. Like, it doesnt give you cancer. So fooling around and seeing what works for you isnt gonna send you to an early grave.

    Even caffeine’s impact on sleep quantity/quality, I’m kind of doubtful of. Sure it is obvious - but is it really significant? Many cultures around the world have a habit of drinking tea or coffee before bed, which seems like an odd choice if it meant that everyone constantly felt like trash the next morning - so I wonder if other lifestyle factors could improve sleep quality more than caffeine intake decreases it. Seems like a bit of a stretch, but I like to stay open minded.

    • Nefara@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 个月前

      Caffeine has a calming or even sedative effect on a decent number of people who have ADHD, so that may be a part of it. Personally I have to cut off all caffeine intake about 12 hours before bed or I have trouble sleeping, but my grandmother used to have a cup of coffee before bed and drop off within 20 minutes.