
Caffeine could limit damage of chronic stress - mkagenius
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/06/caffeine-could-point-the-way-to-limiting-damage-of-chronic-stress/
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ZoeZoeBee
I can't be the only one here who regularly drinks coffee all day and night,
maybe its the constant stress of working more than a dozen hours a day.
Studies like this help validate my beverage of choice.

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iradik
What happens when you develop a tolerance to caffeine after prolonged use?
Study doesn't really explain that.

I'm sure many drugs / stimulants make you feel better in short term but what
about the long term?

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csn
Finnish people drink a lot of coffee; in my place of work it's a mug (0.2
litres) every two hours or so during a twelve hour shift. Some people there
have been doing that for over a decade and apparently their dosage and
consumption interval has remained the same, keeping blood caffeine levels
quite steady.

Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world with ~12kg
annually; compare to the US with ~4.1kg:
[http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_1038_coffee_c...](http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_1038_coffee_consumption_ver2.pdf)

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ptaipale
Same here, but I take that 0.2 litres every hour during a 9-10 hour workday.

I have noticed that if I don't get caffeine, I have a headache within a day.
It lasts for about 3 days, or up to week. Then the cold turkey is over. I
switched to green tea for 1.5 years when living in Asia (quite bad coffee,
sorry) and then started again with coffee.

Decaffeinated is not popular here (e.g. our office does not have it) but
Finnish coffee is no espresso so it's not _that_ strong in caffeine. I prefer
espresso beans though, not the light roast that is typical here.

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pcunite
_paid for by the national coffee association of concerned citizens and
caffeine addicts_

~~~
charlesism
"National Coffee Association" ftfy

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jerf
This appears to be the abstract:
[http://www.pnas.org/content/112/25/7833.abstract](http://www.pnas.org/content/112/25/7833.abstract)

In the footnotes it declares "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

This is more a convenient excuse to post a link to the real abstract than
"correcting" snark. To Ars' credit, they did link the paper's full ID number
at the bottom, which is cool, but at the moment it 404s. Gripping had, it did
give me great Google fodder to find the paper quickly so I'm still scoring
them "wildly ahead of the conventional media".

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pharrington
Taking this at face value: one lives an inordinately stressful life (read:
tries to be successful in a competitive, capitalist environment) and consumes
caffeine to prevent the damage; as habitual caffeine use increases caffeine
tolerance, one increases caffeine consumption, thus moving them asymptotically
towards the breaking point. If one was less fortunate in the genetic lottery,
the tolerance continues increasing beyond the point where it can be sated.
Don't call it a breakdown; call it the obvious endpoint of a society that
tacitly forces non-recreational drug use.

(I guess I'm saying the problem with The War On Drugs as a policy wass that
_it didnt go far enough_ )

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ZoeZoeBee
Well we stand on opposite sides of that war, now find something else to fear
monger

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DanBC
Pharrington doesn't seem to be fear mongering. They seem to be saying that
some people take drugs because they lead miserable lives, and if the war on
drugs meant anything the people waging that war should have focussed on why
those people took drugs, rather than on just criminalising them and removing
the supply of drugs.

~~~
ZoeZoeBee
That's an interesting take seeing as he wrote this (I guess I'm saying the
problem with The War On Drugs as a policy wass that it didnt go far enough).
The thing is drugs can be fun and useful if taken responsibly, I'm not certain
where you stand but I'm guessing you and I are not aligned. Have a good day
sir

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tmlee
Has anyone actually tried the bulletproof recipe (Coffee + Butter +
MCT/Coconut Oil) as an alternative to the standard daily coffee?

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kristiandupont
I did for a while. I added cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper as well. I know
how it sounds, but I loved it. I stopped when Seth Roberts died because I got
a bit freaked out, and didn't really pick it up again except now and then.

I can't say that it made me feel more clear headed or energetic or anything,
but that might just be me
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10573324](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10573324)).

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thelastguy
Though I like the fact that caffeine helps your body heals better, and that,
in turn, helps limit the damage of chronic stress, I don't like the fact that
caffeine has also been linked to impotence.

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avattathil
Skipping my morning Joe often gives me a little stress so I definitely agree
with this article.

