Coffee 'no boost in the morning'

[snopes]

That morning latte or espresso may not be the pick-me-up people think it is, a study has revealed.

University of Bristol researchers say the caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms which build up overnight, but does not make people more alert than normal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6422279.stm

[Esprise Me]

The work, presented to the British Nutrition Foundation conference, showed only people who have avoided coffee for a while will get a buzz from caffeine.

I wonder what constitutes "a while" in their book. Let's see, regular coffee drinkers don't get an "added" boost from drinking coffee; it just gets them back to normal. Normal, in this case, means "the way they would be at this hour if they never drank coffee at all." Still, they're more alert by caffeinating themselves to normal than they would be if they drank coffee every morning but skipped it this time. Occasional coffee drinkers can get a boost from caffeine, presumably above and beyond their "normal" state. So where does one draw the line? I drink coffee maybe three or four days a week. Does that make me a regular or an occasional consumer? And what exactly is the difference? I'm more alert after I've had my coffee than I was before, just like everyone else.

Bah, I need to go to bed. Or have some coffee.

[Tantei Kid]

Duh, we all know an apple is more effective at waking you up.
oww, so is a slap from a fish.

"The best part of waking up...is an apple in your cup"

[inkrose115]

I now have to drink about 2 cups of coffee, well 1.75 small cups of average Dunkin Donuts, to get through my day. If I don't get my coffee, I am woozy all day. I didn't used to need it, now I fear I am a caffiene addict. I am trying to cut down before I end up like some of my friends and require an entire pitcher of coffee to start the day.

[Mad Jay]

But the Bristol researchers, who carried out a review of previous studies into the effects of caffeine, say all the drink does is counteract the mild caffeine withdrawal symptoms people are experiencing because they have gone without the stimulant overnight.

And those who drink a caffeinated drink first thing are no more alert than those who never consume one.

I thought this was common knowledge. Why is this news? I thought everyone knew that coffee stops giving you the buzz after a while and then you have coffee because you are addicted to it. Didn't everyone know that?

Same thing with nicotine. Smoking stops giving you the high after the first week(more or less), after which you smoke because your boidy craves nicotine. I would smoke for a month and then stop for a month to get that first-smoke-high.

[Xia]

That's interesting... I used to drink caffeine (never liked coffee, I drank Coca-cola) in the mornings to help me wake up and it sure seemed to work.
When I realized I was getting headaches from caffeine withdrawal if I didn't have any cola for a few hours, I stopped drinking caffeine. I found out that I got the same effect of being fully awake/alert if I got on the computer/internet early in the morning, but not by doing other activities.
I figured something about reading and having to think to compose messages did it...but now I have no idea why I get the same effect from internet use, if the effect of the Coca-cola was just reducing withdrawal symptoms.