TrainLady
What are some of the best pointers you can provide to help me know how to best use caffeine strategically for alertness management?
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Fatigue Prevention and Fatigue Countermeasures – Pointers for Caffeine Use
Author: TrainLady
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Hi TrainLady,
For this question, I decided to tap into the mind of my colleague, Danielle Robertson Rath. She is the founder of GreenEyedGuide Research and Consulting and she is a caffeine expert. Danielle said that the first thing you have to do is find your Caffeine Sweet Spot. Here are her notes on the Caffeine Sweet Spot:
Having twice as much caffeine doesn’t give you twice as much energy. Past a certain “sweet spot” caffeine will make you more anxious than alert, making it harder to focus. Additionally, a dose of 700 mg caffeine (2 grande coffees or 6 Red Bulls) is enough to cause panic attacks and some pretty uncomfortable side effects like gastrointestinal distress, headaches, jitters, nausea, even vomiting.
What To Do:
Your Caffeine Sweet Spot is when you have consumed just enough caffeine to keep you alert but not agitated
Find your sweet spot by nursing your caffeine – take several small sips throughout the day as opposed to drinking an entire energy drink or grande coffee
I will get a couple more pointers from Danielle for you soon.
To learn more about Danielle Robertson Rath and GreenEyedGuide Research and Consulting visit https://greeneyedguide.com .
Here is pointer # 2 from Caffeine Expert, Danielle Robertson Rath:
When you don't get enough sleep for several nights in a row, the thought of drinking caffeine might be the only way to get out of bed. But drinking caffeine right when you wake up interferes with hormonal fluctuations in the “Cortisol Awakening Response”, which means your caffeine doesn’t work as well during this chain of reactions in your body.
What To Do:
Start the morning with a hot cup of water. The warmth will mock the soothing effects of a warm cup of coffee while the water helps stimulate your metabolism
Wait at least 1 hour between waking up and consuming caffeine
If you must have some caffeine right away, keep it to a few sips – just enough to trigger the placebo effect but not enough to interfere with the Cortisol Awakening Response
Here is pointer # 3 from Caffeine Expert, Danielle Robertson Rath
If you want your caffeine to work on those awful days you feel like a walking zombie, you have to avoid building a tolerance. You can do that by drinking caffeine as a proportionate response to how tired you are. "This is the premise behind my 5 Levels of Fatigue", said Danielle.
What To Do:
Choose your coffee or energy drink based on your Level of Fatigue
Save the drinks with the higher caffeine content for those Energy Emergencies, when you’re REALLY struggling to stay awake
If you’re both sleepy and irritated, pick coffee or an energy drink WITHOUT theanine; people perform worse on tests measuring attention when they had caffeine and theanine together versus caffeine alone
To learn more about Danielle Robertson Rath and her 5 Levels of Fatigue visit https://greeneyedguide.com .
There you have it, 3 great pointers from Caffeine Expert,Danielle Robertson Rath.
Find your caffeine sweet spot.
Don't consume caffeine immediately after waking up.
Don't drink the same caffeinated beverage every time you need a boost.