[gumby]

I have long been fascinated by the degree to which WWII was fought on caffeine and nicotine (on all sides and all theatres). Other drugs (e.g. amphetamine and Benzedrine) get some press but we’re minor factors. I did a few experiments decades ago with nicotine, enough to notice its nice resonant behavior with coffee, but not enough I guess to notice any real benefit myself. I did relish the social habits associated with cigarette usage (the excuse for a brief pause in conversation to collect your thoughts, the social aspect of one person lighting up and others unthinkingly joining in, offering/receiving a light, cadging or offering a cigarette, sharing a single one, etc)

Tea and coffee have long been my companions. During Covid I cut down from two pots of brewed coffee a day to one. In June of this year I unexpectedly had to stop drinking coffee for almost a week and since then have had only one cup, which I accidentally drank out of habit (someone put a fresh one next to me while I was sitting and reading). After 46 years of daily high consumption I just…stopped. And I don’t miss it. I walk past the pot full of coffee in the kitchen and don’t notice it.

It makes me wonder how much is simply habit.

[nonameiguess]

It's amusing to see "WWII" as if the military today doesn't still run on these things. It's more Monster energy drink and vaping these days (I guess still dip for dudes who grew up south of the Mason-Dixon line), but at least in the US Army, the Soldiers are still being fueled by caffeine and nicotine. All the other advice about vitamins and turning off screens and what not kind of goes out the window when you're getting 2 hours of sleep a night for over a year.

[ljf]

I used to drink heaps of coffee - a mug or two before work, two or three takeaway cups from the amazing 'Algerian Coffee Stores' on Dean Street, Soho. And then a filter or two in the afternoon.

Then one day I had a panic attack, not a terrible one, but I felt pretty shocking. The next morning I had my coffee, and the panic came back. Every time I drank coffee I felt the same.

I lusted after coffee, I had blinding headaches and would wake up thinking about coffee for a month or two. Even knowing what it would do to me, my body was desperate for it.

After about 6 months I could handle one small coffee again without panic, and now I can have two or three a day without issue - I've not tried pushing it further, but some days when I'm stressed, even a second coffee will leave me feeling a little overwhelmed.

[pengaru]

Based on my experience combining Lion's Mane supplements [0] with caffeine I'm curious if it'd make any difference in your situation WRT caffeine. For me it eliminates ~all of the negative effects of the stimulant, even withdrawal symptoms, so I just go on and off of heavy usage at will.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Mushroom-Supplement-Vegetarian-Nature...

[ljf]

My wife has some of that - maybe I'll try it! Interestingly, since long covid, she can barely face coffee. Some days she'll have one, but generally too much for her (as is drinking alcohol now). So the supplements does not remove the negatives of coffee for her.

[droobles]

I feel you on the social elements. I find keeping a tin of breath mints and sharing them creates a similar social atmosphere with friends and colleagues, that shared time to mull over thoughts or chat, similar to a smoke break. Morning walks/runs also create this I find.

[melagonster]

ah, I like this advice

[lostlogin]

Regarding your WW2 comment a Reading Spike Milligan and his descriptions of making tea under fire is excellent.

But as for coffee just being a habit, no way. I’m not sure how you did it so cleanly, but the headaches on stopping can be terrible.

[gumby]

> I’m not sure how you did it so cleanly

I was hospitalized, pumped full of drugs and didn't eat anything (except via IV) for a week -- the absence of caffeine thing was kind of a random side effect. Not an approach I would recommend!

I was pumped full of antibiotics and took more after being discharged so pretty well wiped out all the bacteria in my gut, which I replaced by eating yoghurt. My diet has changed fairly radically since then (zero interest in sweets, for example) so I wonder how much of my coffee and other food desires were actually my gut symbionts' desires.

[boringg]

Agreed caffeine withdrawal is real you don't switch off that habit with meaningful consequences on your body. However maybe tea has been covering the caffeine component and they slowly tapered off.

Additionally apparently having coffee first thing in the morning, your body gets adjusted to that and your brain gets dependent on coffee to get a quick start.