Guide to getting the most out of caffeine

• Consume in small, frequent amounts. Between 20-200mg per hour may be an optimal dose for cognitive function.


• Play to caffeine's strengths. Caffeine's effects can be maximized or minimized depending on what else is in your system at the time. The beneficial effects of caffeine may be most pronounced in conjunction with sugar. For example, one factor analytic study has shown caffeine-glucose cocktails provide benefits to cognition not seen with either alone.

Etc. There's a lot of good material here. Of course, one near throw-away comment caught my eye:

At doses of 600mg, caffeine's effects on cognitive performance are often comparable to those of modafinil, a best-of-class nootropic.

Not that modafinil is particularly hard to get, but caffeine pills definitely seem hella cheaper... At any rate, as someone who seems to alternate between periods of no caffeine and periods of "all the coffee I can stomach," this handy guide offers some practical tips that I imagine I will attempt to implement first thing in the morning...