
Ask HN: What do you do when coffee stops working? - cdvonstinkpot
I remember years ago, before there was Red Bull or energy drinks, a cup or two of coffee would give me a noticeable pep &amp; I at least felt like I was able to get more done. But not anymore.<p>I still drink coffee quite often, especially when I&#x27;m doing an all-nighter. But it seems like its just become a habit, with no benefit felt.<p>When I&#x27;m tired, usually on a day after being up working all night, I take a 200mg caffiene pill (Generic Vivarin), &amp; that seems to help a bit- no real perk, but just less groggy enough to notice.<p>I&#x27;ve heard people recommend Yerba Mate in place of coffee, for people with high caffeine tolerances, but it too, doesn&#x27;t provide the desired boost&#x2F;pep.<p>I&#x27;ve been lurking on r&#x2F;nootropics, but haven&#x27;t decided yet to try anything mentioned there.<p>Ideas?
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mindcrime
Work less, pull fewer all-nighters, and get more sleep. Pushing yourself
beyond your limits using stimulants is not a good long term plan.

I say this as someone who did that stuff for a long time, and then had a heart
attack at the ripe old age of 41.

Be careful how you treat your body, you only get one.

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allanmacgregor
Adrafinil works great if used sparingly, other than that you can try cutting
down on the caffeine and using L-theanine to supplement.

[http://nootropicsdepot.com/](http://nootropicsdepot.com/) has a pretty good
selection of capsules and they are fairly good in terms of pricing.

Just remember there is no free lunch, and you can usually over do it. One
recommendation would be to cut all the sugar or energy drinks, the sugar crash
that comes will just make it higher.

As well something you might want to try is cutting back coffee altogether
during weekends to give your body time to recover.

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adamlinscott
Try cut back on the caffeine and try more glucose based drinks like Lucozade
(i'm from UK, I've read Gatorade is the US equivalent). I found it gaveme a
good boost of energy when pulling all-nighters when caffeine didn't do it for
me.

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azeirah
Don't drink any coffee for a week.

