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moridinamael comments on Open thread, 30 June 2014- 6 July 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion
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I cut out caffeine almost completely almost a month ago, after drinking large amounts of it daily since I was twelve. I have noted that I no longer have difficulty rising from bed in the morning, I no longer get headaches specifically due to missing coffee, etc., that's all very nice. Unfortunately I've also noticed that I sort of feel dumber and less motivated. I had a double shot of espresso this morning and suddenly feel like my old self again - sharp, quick, motivated. So I find myself in the unfortunate position of wondering if I actually need caffeine to feel like I think of as normal. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? If I stay off caffeine long enough will I eventually feel normal without it?
There's this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19777214
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19241060
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18795265
Thanks, the second link is good. Tl;dr:
My overall conclusion is that acute caffeine gives a short-term boost, BUT chronic caffeine is probably slightly worse than chronic abstinence. So my recommendation would be to never consume caffeine, with occasional short exceptions when it would be valuable (e.g. when taking your SATs).
And the answer to the grandparent's question seems to be that yes, after a few weeks without caffeine your mental performance will go back to baseline, and probably slightly above.
While your brain will down-regulate norepinephrine and dopamine receptors over time with caffeine usage which will make it less effective and cause addiction and withdrawals, which you've experienced, you probably still have overall higher levels of both neurotransmitters when you drink caffeine when you have a tolerance to it than you would without any at all, even after re-adjusting. It does give a net mental boost and if you're used to that, it can be hard to be satisfied with not having it. You may not be as sharp or on-point once you get used to not having caffeine, but eventually it will feel like thinking normally since you'll get used to it. It's a tradeoff.