Awful article that completely misrepresents the study.
Adderall doesn’t replace caffeine sorry.
A basic Google search will tell you the mechanisms of action for these drugs are totally different.
A basic Google search will give you plenty of anecdotal experiences from people who actually use these drugs explaining that no they are different.
I use both, they are very different. Caffiene doesn’t make me focus, it just makes me less drowsy. Adderall makes me focused and motivated. Caffiene cannot replace Adderall for me.
It seems that this study was conducted for NT people (I would hope they controlled for attentional issues), so I kinda get that. It would make a lot more sense tho to compare - caffeine, Adderall, and placebo.
Side note, as someone with ADHD, Adderall is the fucking devil. It makes me jittery and bitchy, and it was only formulated so Shire could have something to sell under a patent after the Dexedrine patent ran out. I wish it would go away.
My vyvanse definitely helps me focus and get shit done, but I am so irritable and I get that awful jittery feeling too. Plus it’s so stupidly expensive.
But no one in the study actually received Adderall? If I’m understanding this right they cannot claim caffeine is as effective as Adderall. All their study shows is that caffeine is as or more effective than an Adderall placebo.
Cocaine too
I had stomach issues my entire life from the massive amounts of energy drinks I needed to drink to get my work done. It got so bad I started complaining to my doctor who realized I was probably self medicating, she had me tested for ADHD and got me on Adderall. Life has been so much better since, just suffering now due to the shortages and needing to ration.
I literally can’t function without coffee; I’ve been drinking it since I turned 5. Actually I even drink coffee before going to sleep.
No it can’t
Years of experimenting on myself would disagree. Caffeine makes me jittery, scattered, and kind of an a-hole in regular amounts. When it comes to coffee, my sweet spot is a single mug of 1/10 caf.
Not all stimulants are the same. If they were, Ritalin and Adderall would be interchangeable. But many people, including me, find that only one of those two prescription stims works.
I’m really curious whether the any of the study participants actually had ADHD. I’m gonna bet they were all NTs.
It seems like this study doesn’t say anything about ADHD or Adderall. All they gave out was caffeine or placebo and they either told the participants they were getting caffeine or Adderall. So all the study really concluded is that if (a neurotypical) college student was fooled into thinking they took Adderall where they really took caffeine they’d perform better than someone who just took caffeine. Which just seems like proving the placebo effect.
As someone diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, my first response is “wait, did we not already know this?”
Seriously, reliance on a lot of caffeine is such a typical way for ADHD folks to self-medicate, especially prior to being diagnosed.
Have you ever drank so much coffee it feels like you’re medicated?
I used to use nicotine patches + coffee and it was basically like being in Ritalin.
If I can drink 1L of coffee inside an hour I’m in the zone
If I can drink 1L of coffee I’m in the bathroom.
AKA: The Zone
Pot’o’Zone
