Caffeine for ADHD
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- ADHD experts express markedly similar opinions on a variety of topics, but coffee consumption creates a great divide. Some warn that caffeine should be avoided, because it is an inferior stimulant that can disrupt and confuse the effects of prescribed medications. Others consider it perfectly acceptable, as long as individuals keep in mind that it is a weak stimulant and may interact with their other medications.
We have a wealth of data showing that caffeine can boost alertness and attention and reduce reaction times in the general population. Researchers have also conducted numerous studies in rodent models of ADHD, showing positive effects on some executive functions. But most of the human ADHD research is simply observational, documenting high levels of coffee consumption for many with ADHD. Most of the studies that administered doses of coffee or caffeine to those with ADHD were completed forty to fifty years ago, and had amazingly small numbers of subjects.
I have a coffee before sleeping every night and it doesnt faze me.
me too, me and my best friend both have adhd but he’s the opposite it gives him energy but it doesn’t do anything for me
Same, I consistently drink 2 to 4 shots of espresso and/or equivalent coffee before bed. I don't use any adhd meds and I seemingly function great
Whenever I can't sleep I get up and get a cup of coffee. Then I can sleep
I've been drinking 1-3 cups of coffee everyday for a few years now and never felt the energy boost that some people talk about but I grew to enjoy the taste. But when I started taking 36mg of Concerta a few weeks ago I noticed that most days I would get anxiety in the afternoons when I do have 1 cup of coffee.
Fascinating! Thank you!
At one point when I was working for a bank where the coffee was free, I was drinking up to ten a day. I began to actually wake up with headaches and I've almost never had more than one a day since then.
Always listen to your body, it's the best advice you'll get.
I love coffee (caffeinated of course!). It does nothing for me at all focus-wise when not taking my ADHD meds. When I do take Vyvanse and have some coffee in the early afternoon, it helps a little to extend the medication's help with focus. Overall, coffee is more for enjoyment than help with ADHD for me personally.
I have adhd and take Jet alert 100mg caffein pills instead, it works wonders for my focus and productivity with no side effects.
adhd meds come with risks, addiction, a long list of possible nasty side-effects for which you often need additional medication. They can help some but they're not for everyone. Plenty people can manage by caffeine self-regulation, almost risk free
Have adhd…thinking of quitting caffeine because of other health reasons. It’s tasty and I like the feeling if I don’t drink too much and I make sure to eat with it. I’m not I’m sure it benefits me much. I’d rather have something healthier and better for my internal systems like less inflammatory etc.
AuDHD, started "trying" coffee since 6, regular drinker since 11, from age 25 i started counting the days without coffee / year on my 2 hands. only diagnosed age 45. this does explain why i've always preferred coffee as my go-to drink, without even understanding why or what it did. I do have insomnia but mostly because of the ASD and needing space and time to process things and self regulate. I never experience withdrawal symptoms or urges for caffeine during periods when I don't drink any caffeine at all (sometimes for weeks during a heatwave). Still sometimes I feel a buzz if I have a 2nd double espresso for example but it lasts for 15 minutes and then I'm perfectly calm again, i could lay down and be sleeping within minutes.
I have ADHD and started taking a Jet alert 100mg caffeine pill in the morning with a drink and small meal. It works wonders for my focus, memory, and productivity with no side affects. I used to drink coffee and multiple energy drinks which made me somehow feel both restless and lethargic at the same time lol
I'm glad that you found something that works for you.
I doubt I can ever quite caffeine even though I have ADHD. It allows me to double or even tripple my output at work.
If you're not noticing any problems from it, I wouldn't worry about quitting it.
I've been bery addicted to coffee for about 18 years. I've also had mulitple periods of fatigue through my life, at one point diagnosed ME. Coffee helped me a lot, but the past maybe 5+ years it doesn't seem to be giving so much benefits any more. Earlier this year I was diagnosed ADHD, at 46 (female). So my personal verdict is yes, caffeine really helps. Up until a point, which you also touched upon.
Cool, cool. Plus for me to know nicotine cuts 1/2 life as i over indulged caffiene. A neuroscientist i use to follow claims caffiene isnt harmful as long as sourced directly from say coffee tea or other true source. He strongly advised not to get it from products that have caffiene added ? Dunno how that was supported. Myself adhd autism and smoothly managed bipolar..i take a risk with my adhd caffiene use if upsets structured sleep for bipolar.. i just love my caffiene working on ditching it entirely. Sure enjoyed this post, so detailed informative helpful and created for me enough interest i was easily able to follow it thru. arrghh FDA my fav. Amazing personal MD wkd for them said "If You Cant Sell It" what we already know.. $$$$ so much or all FDA. Cool share, thank you sir.
The caffeine molecule whether produced by a plant or a chemical / pharmaceutical lab should be exactly the same molecule. But, coffee, tea, cocoa and other plant sources also contain a number of other psychoactive and physiologically active agents that may give a different overall effect than pure caffeine would.
Nicotine itself doesn’t cut the half life, smoking tobacco does. If you vape, use orally or transdermal patch it will not have an effect on your caffeine metabolism. I speculate that the main benefit of cessation products is helping you adjust to the shift in caffeine metabolism that comes with smoking cessation. I’ve thought someone should develop a pill that induces CYP1A2 using criciferous vegetables for the purpose of smoking cessation.
There's a lot of mixed information about the half life of caffeine for the average person. One source says 1 cup consumed at noon time will leave half a cup still in your body by midnight. So if drinking half a cup of coffee at midnight before you go to bed sounds like a good idea for an ADHD person with sleep onset or maintenance difficulty then by all means sabotage yourself away. While many may sleep fine drinking 6+ cups throughout the day, it can be a silent thief as the depth of your deep (slow wave, delta) sleep can be diminished and while you do sleep through the night, you are not as rested functionally and therefore need to consume more coffee in the morning which fuels a negative cycle. Instead, cold showers and exercise seem to have no half life, no crash, and you feel 100x better than drinking coffee. Oh yeah forgot to mention it's non-trivial that coffee shrinks your brain!
i have noticed that i dont have any caffeine limit except when i have had so much i literally sleep anywhere. i dont get energy from it its more like a calming sensation and my concentration increase slightly and some of my fidgetyness / hyper behaviour decrease but most likely not in a good way i have noticed now recently i get more tired and lands in the cant seem to do anything important no matter how hard i try in that state. i could write a book about how coffee affects me but im short this time
I have found it has all the undesirable effects of prescription stimulants like methylphenidate and amphetamine with almost none of the desirable effects. It is good for one thing: when you are falling asleep in the morning or afternoon and want to be fully awake.
For the caffeine-sleepiness question:
Dr Kruse had some interesting points about how being more together might help people be ready for sleep, but that sounds different from what the person was asking., I’ve definitely had the experience of coffee making me tired. Normally I have coffee every morning and it has the expected effect. But sometimes a coffee will make me feel more tired instead of less. I’ve always put it down to something in that specific cup of coffee itself. Expresso is usually fine (standard cafe coffee in Australia), but American-style coffee can sometimes make me sleepy. Maybe the longer brew time is bringing out different compounds?
Possible, but it's not likely to yield that different a biochemical mixture. I think that extending my explanation fits pretty well what they asked. If your thoughts are more organized and containable, and if you are feeling much calmer with your stimulant, as many do with ADHD, that is a recipe for falling asleep (if your circadian and sleep fatigue factors are lined up).
Bec he's a weird just like u
Be vegan 😡😡😡😡
@@bevegan911ummm nope actually meat and eggs helped me a lot 😊
I take breaks from having coffee. The body starts producing more adenosine, builds tolerance.
Dear Dr Kruse,
A somewhat unrelated question, but have you had any patients who were stable on Vyvanse now saying that they find it is a lot less consistently efficacious than before, or that it seems significantly weaker than before, or that they are getting odd side effects from it that they did not have before? I ask because I have noticed the first of these, and I have met several other people online who have had the same experience, and we are wondering if there has been an issue with some batches of the drug.
Since the generic became available (around September 2023, I think, in the US) I have heard more frequent complaints. It may be that fillers in the capsule effect how quickly it is absorbed. I haven't seen any chemical anaylsis that suggests there have actually been blatantly defective batches. I think this is a real issue, in that many of my patients were not even aware that they had been switched over to generic by their pharmacy.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 Yeah, it makes sense that it could be the fillers. My batch for this month is totally different from last month, and is like a placebo.😭 I'm going to switch to something else for a while.
For me drinking a 5 shot espresso regularly did very little for helping focus. It was a little more effective than not drinking any caffeine, but the cost/benefit of focus vs affecting sleep was very poor. Ironically I was also able to easily take a nap an hour after drinking my 5 shot espresso then having it affect my ability to sleep properly at night.
It sounds like you are among the very many people for whom caffeine is just not a very effective stimulant.
Caffeine works decently, I just wish it lasted longer.
Personally for me (with ADHD) caffeine does nothing, until I consume ~600mg in a very short window. In which case it still does nothing except it feels like my heart wants to explode lol.
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like an experiment that you don't need to repeat.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 yeah it’s just incredibly odd how I feel literally nothing besides my heart beat harder and faster once I hit that ~600mg threshold. It’s not even like it keeps me alert, I’ve fallen asleep with it happening.
Sir how to find my Why of doing hard things as adhd person ? How to be purpose driven instead of confused & uncertain..
Medications can be helpful, but usually only partly helpful. You need to have a plan regarding what you want to focus on when the stimulant is in you. You may need to sit down and consider what your values, your goals, and your desires are, and what the next steps would be for working towards them. For some people with ADHD this is very challenging alone, but somewhat easier with a therapist or friend or teacher who understands ADHD.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 Any books recommendations on this topic ? I want to love studying boring stuff & subjects of my work so it becomes enjoyable to do..
@@mohibquadri4053 I usually hesitate to recommend books, because the writer's style has to speak to you as an individual reader, particularly for those with ADHD. It can be a great book but if you don't connect with it, it won't be of much use to you. Nevertheless, I think that Thomas Brown has several good books on understanding how ADHD can impair executive functions, and Gina Pera writes well about the impact of ADHD on individual's lives, particularly relationships. Cognitive behavioral therapy provides a powerful set of tools for helping those with ADHD, and books by Solanto, and by Safren help apply CBT specifically to ADHD.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 Thanks a Million 💚 for helping me on this subject it means a lot 😊
I was horribly addicted to caffeine. When i quit, it took several tries and caused terrible withdrawal symptoms. I may be particularly susceptible, but it's a real thing.
Thanks for pointing out this angle. Yes, caffeine withdrawal is a well described and common problem with stopping the substance.
In my country I can't get stimulants for my adhd it's illegal😅 so for some time I take caffeine pills 100 mg sodium caffeine benzoate every morning. I notice executive function improvement, i get through my morning routine much faster and it doesn't bother me as much. Though the effect wears off in less than two hours. Regular tea or coffee don't do much for me
Thank you for sharing your experience. Just be careful taking it too close to bedtime.
A lousy stimulant. How true. But it gets lousier: 98% of the illigeal amphetamine is laced with caffein. So why don`t you use prescribed amphetamine? Because in Germany immedeate released amphetamine is only available for kids. With adults the health insurances won`t pay nothing. The agent ampetamine itself isn`t available in Germany since last year May.
Yep, too much of the decision making around stimulants in every country is politics based rather than mental health and science based. I think political and social concerns need to have some role, but it is not kind or helpful to deprive many many people of potentially life saving medications.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 how true.
I am sorry, but this is not entirely true. Yes, prescription amphetamine is only regulated for children. However, doctors can still prescribe it and there are ones that literally have "adult" in their name, like the ones I take. My (non-private) insurance pays it. I pay 5 euros, which is normal for many medications and has nothing to do with the children stuff. Mine is slow release, but I also have an "if u need it/we gonna test if it helps you" immediate release amphetamine, also 5 Euros. And I got my diagnoses last year in May btw. I am really not sure where you got that information from. Maybe you need to switch doctor or insurance. I am from Germany, in case that wasn't implied already.
@@siluramiau8509 Which immedeate release amphetamine? Which doctor? Which insurance? My email is on my channel info. All I can get now is Elvanse, no Attentin.
ADHDers, How long until you tuned out? I zoned out between 8mins and 22mins.
Too bad, you missed some useful information. Listen to it at a faster speed if that works better for you.
@@dr.johnkruse6708 I eventually go through it. Thanks Doc. Appreciate your content.
Be vegan 😡😡😡