Negative effects of caffeine

hazzy87

Good Afternoon,
I read a lot about how caffeine can play a part in improving performance, however there is always to much of good thing at times.
I’ve noticed that to much caffeine even a few hours before a ride might be affecting my concerntration on the bike and has had an effect on my ability on the bike also.
I’m more nervous and seem to be overthinking mainly when descending which has almost caused me to come off a few months back.
Obviously I’m going to massively reduce or even stop my intake of it in hope that it helps?

Has anybody else had a similar experience with it? Did it help to quit the caffeine completely?

Thanks

mrfpb

I've not heard of caffeine having that effect on a person (affecting concentration). It can cause hand tremors, so is thought to no be good for fine motor skill sports (shooting, golf, snooker), but good for endurance (inhibiting feelings of fatigue).

If you are using lots of caffeine to make up for lack of sleep or rest, then I guess it can only cover so much fatigue. How much are you using?

Personally I will often have a good strong americano just before a long ride, and also will occasionally use an electrolyte tab with caffeine in a water bottle during a ride. It doesn't have any negative effects that I'm aware of. And of course any positive benefits may be down to the placebo effect anyway.

sungod

it's a stimulant, but how it affects any given person will vary

it can improve physical performance, perhaps if you are racing there might be a benefit, but if you're not then you've nothing to lose if you give it up

if you think it is making you nervous/jittery seems clear you should reduce/eliminate intake

dennisn

I've got a stomach ulcer that my Doctor wants to blame on too much caffeine (and alcohol). I tend to believe him.

super_davo

The effects of caffeine vary wildy from person to person... there are people that can't get out of bed in the morning without two espressos and others who a can of coke sends to a jittery mess. I'm closer to the latter camp than the former but if you recognise it and use that knowledge it can still give you benefits.

I try to minimise my input in day to day life; no more than one cup of caffeinated coffee or can of drink a day, in the morning only, and always one day a week at least with zero caffeine. Any more knocks my sleeping pattern and just makes me more tired over the week.

I undoubtedly get a boost from caffeine on rides; on very short rides like time trials it generally means I start off harder and take less time to get into a rythm, on longer rides it stops me from tailng off. But for 1-2 hours rides, for me neither effect makes much difference so not much to be gained. Then I go back to the real world and too much caffeine still makes me jittery and not sleep so I'd rather avoid it where I can.

Ultimately, caffeine is a drug - a totally sanitised and normalised drug perhaps - but still a drug. It won't do the exactly same thing to you as it will to me or to anyone else, and if you think it is having a positive or negative effect on you, the only way to truly know is to repeat everything as closely as possible with and without and note the differences in how you feel.

sungod

dennisn said:

I've got a stomach ulcer that my Doctor wants to blame on too much caffeine (and alcohol). I tend to believe him.

i thought stomach ulcers turned out to be caused mostly by bacteria, with high living having little if anything to do with it

could be your doctor using the ulcer as an excuse to influence habits for other reasons, or perhaps he just wants to make you miserable

dennisn

sungod said:

dennisn said:

I've got a stomach ulcer that my Doctor wants to blame on too much caffeine (and alcohol). I tend to believe him.

i thought stomach ulcers turned out to be caused mostly by bacteria, with high living having little if anything to do with it

could be your doctor using the ulcer as an excuse to influence habits for other reasons, or perhaps he just wants to make you miserable

Well, that's what he said. Anyway, I didn't know caffeine was "high living".

ugo.santalucia

dennisn said:

sungod said:

dennisn said:

I've got a stomach ulcer that my Doctor wants to blame on too much caffeine (and alcohol). I tend to believe him.

i thought stomach ulcers turned out to be caused mostly by bacteria, with high living having little if anything to do with it

could be your doctor using the ulcer as an excuse to influence habits for other reasons, or perhaps he just wants to make you miserable

Well, that's what he said. Anyway, I didn't know caffeine was "high living".

More the alcohol than the coffee... but yes, most ulcers are down to helicobacter pilori... has he not tested you/given you a course of antibiotics?

That aside, if you can stop drinking alcohol (all of it) that can only be a good thing... maybe it will come as a surprise, but animals in general are not supposed to drink alcohol (any of it)... it's supposed to be a poison that yeasts produce as a mechanism of self defence

dennisn

ugo.santalucia said:

dennisn said:

sungod said:

dennisn said:

I've got a stomach ulcer that my Doctor wants to blame on too much caffeine (and alcohol). I tend to believe him.

i thought stomach ulcers turned out to be caused mostly by bacteria, with high living having little if anything to do with it

could be your doctor using the ulcer as an excuse to influence habits for other reasons, or perhaps he just wants to make you miserable

Well, that's what he said. Anyway, I didn't know caffeine was "high living".

More the alcohol than the coffee... but yes, most ulcers are down to helicobacter pilori... has he not tested you/given you a course of antibiotics?

That aside, if you can stop drinking alcohol (all of it) that can only be a good thing... maybe it will come as a surprise, but animals in general are not supposed to drink alcohol (any of it)... it's supposed to be a poison that yeasts produce as a mechanism of self defence

WHAT? I can't leave the house, now no alcohol? Is life even worth living?

ugo.santalucia

dennisn said:

WHAT? I can't leave the house, now no alcohol? Is life even worth living?

It's your call whether it's worth living, but it's important to know that if you don't smoke, then the most significant change in lifestyle you can do, the one with the most impact in the short as well as in the long run, is to stop drinking alcohol...

It's linked to pretty much every disease you can think about... from dementia, to any form of cancer, heart problems... you name it...

In other words, it's a bit pointless to go vegan, or cut on red meat or do more exercise or eat less in general if you then continue drinking alcohol.

alecjaxob

There are also positive effects of caffeine.

bobmcstuff

If you drink coffee/otherwise ingest caffeine all the time you quite quickly become habituated to it, so it would be surprising to see such big effects if you are having caffeine regularly. In fact it is quite common in athletes to reduce caffeine intake in the couple of weeks leading up to a major event in order to make it more effective on the day.

As mentioned above, smallish amounts of regular caffeine ingestion has been shown to have some positive health effects (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-latest-scoop-on-the-health-benefits-of-coffee-2017092512429 - random link from the 1st page of google). Tea and coffee have a lot of antioxidants too.