# Is my caffiene tolerance really as high as I think it is? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038 "2006-06-25T01:39:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/1 "2006-06-25T01:39:02Z")
For some strange reason, I seem to be “immune” to the effects of the latest crop of “Supercaffienated” energy drinks… Red Bull; HA!, I laugh at your puny excuse for caffiene, I can bang one down when tired and still fall asleep Full Throttle/FT Fury; uhh…there’s supposed to be caffiene in here, right? why does it not affect me then? Moxie Energy Drink; nice, pleasant citrussy taste, best taste of the three, but where’s the caffiene rush? and tonight, I tried the “big gun” of Supercaffiene energy drinks; Bawls Guarana; nice pleasant taste, almost as good as Moxie, yet i’m _still_ tired, where’s the reputed caffiene rush? \*note, I _did NOT_ consume all these beverages tonight, just the Bawls Guarana, the others are just ones i’ve tried in the past strangely enough, the one highly caffienated beverage that _does_ work as intended is Green Mountain Coffee’s “Exotic Origin” Tanzanian Peaberry, heck, I can simply open the coffee canister and take a whiff of the beans and get a caffiene buzz… So, am I alone in finding the supercaffienated energy drinks (SCED) quite ineffective? ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b782af/32.png) [@Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_And_Candy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/2 "2006-06-25T01:43:12Z")
I don’t know. I think I’m in the same boat as you-- caffeine seems to have no effect on me whatsoever. I can drink gallons of coffee/tea/soda/whatever and be fine. I never get all jittery and I can fall asleep fine. Never had a sugar rush either. I think there’s something wrong with me. =\ ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/3 "2006-06-25T01:52:03Z")
I often have a coffee before bed. The fact that it’s a warm beverage actually helps make me sleepy. Caffeine doesn’t do a whole lot to me anymore. If I really need a jolt awake, I’ll take an espresso-based drink. That’s the only way to have caffeine have any effect on me, and I don’t really know why. But give me a cappucino, and I’ll twitch a bit. Meanwhile, give me three regular filter coffees, and I’ll yawn at you. ---
**Author:** ![bubble\_pop\_electric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@bubble\_pop\_electric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubble_pop_electric)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/4 "2006-06-25T04:25:40Z")
From what my doctor has told me, people with ADD (such as myself) just don’t get a jolt of energy from caffeine. I’ve never felt jittery from drinking caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/5 "2006-06-25T04:48:39Z")
My doctor told me once that while caffeine is a stimulant it doesn’t always have the same effect on everyone because it stimulates **everything** and in some people this includes the urge to sleep. He said some people find it easier to nod off after a small dose of caffeine. Seemed odd to me at the time but I guess you guys prove that he’s right. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/6 "2006-06-25T04:51:43Z")
Sure thing- an energy drink will help keep me alert if I’m pulling an all-nighter, but caffiene won’t make it tough to sleep either, if I’m tired in the first place. Almost makes me think the effects of caffiene are more psychosomatic than physiological in me. ---
**Author:** ![DonutSprinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@DonutSprinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonutSprinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/7 "2006-06-25T06:49:25Z")
I drink coffee for about 8 hours while I’m at work. Then when I get home, I drink beer for about 6 or 7 hours. Works for me! ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/8 "2006-06-25T06:53:54Z")
I, too, seem to have gained an unusually high tolerance to caffeine. I have [no idea why](http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=8622368229333568102ej.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/9 "2006-06-25T11:18:24Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > I, too, seem to have gained an unusually high tolerance to caffeine. I have [no idea why](http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=8622368229333568102ej.jpg). I’ve been known to get up on a Saturday morning, have a pot of espresso to avoid the withdrawal headache, and then go back to bed. But at night, no coffee for me. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/10 "2006-06-25T14:53:06Z")
Caffeine has little to no effect on me, aside from feeling a dizzy the next day if I have too much, but Benadryl and Ny-Quil wake me right up. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/11 "2006-06-26T03:37:40Z")
I, too, seem to be unaffected by caffeine. I start drinking coffee as soon as I get to work and drink it off and on until it’s time to go home. One time, I recall getting a bit jumpy late in the afternoon. Just the one time. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/12 "2006-06-26T03:49:42Z")
Count me as another who seems to be totally unaffected by caffiene. I can drink it all day, one cup after another, with no effect other than I have to pee a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a87d85/32.png) [@Rebecca\_DiMwitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebecca_DiMwitter)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/13 "2006-06-26T17:30:29Z")
Sigh. Half a cup, and it doesn’t even have to be the GOOD stuff, and I am jumpy, shaky and way too alert for my own good! If I have a Diet Coke at the theater, at a 7 PM-ish showing, I am up for hours afterwards. Still have a caffeine addiction to feed however, so must drink my sodas early in the day. At least I can stave off the headache sure to come if I fail to indulge my addiction by slamming down a Diet Coke (1/2 the caffeine of a cup of coffee, or so they say…) with breakfast. Blueberry pancakes and a diet Coke–an acquired taste combination, to be sure, but there you have it. You guys are SOOOO lucky! Then again, Benedryl? I’m out cold in mere minutes from a dose of that stuff. Least I’m easy. –Beck ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/14 "2006-06-26T17:35:57Z")
Yup. I used to get sleepy from large amounts of caffeine, but now I feel nothing at all. It doesn’t impede me from falling asleep one bit. But like **Morelin** , Neo-Citran will have me tossing and turning. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-caffiene-tolerance-really-as-high-as-i-think-it-is/362038/15 "2006-06-26T19:47:42Z")
Are you sure it’s not a sugar crash that overpowers the caffiene high and makes you sleepy? I don’t usually drink caffiene, and when I do it wakes me the hell up. Usually I’ll drink a sugar-free energy drink before karate class, then come home and do the dishes, wash some clothes, take out the trash and clean off my kitchen table and still stay awake for a few hours. But if I had a full-sugar one…eh, I’d probably fall right asleep.