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The other day I was in a meeting with a co-worker and noticed they had a five-hour energy on their desks. Every morning, I walk by hte cafeteria and see the huge line of people at the coffe machine. I watch as my co-workers pound down energy drinks and mountian dew everyday. I'm pretty sure plenty of them are on coke/Adderrol/ etc. I work in a boring cubicle farm.

What the heck is wrong with "modern society" that everyone feels so much pressure that they have to constantly take stimulants to keep going? What am I missing here? Is modern life all that more crazy than the past, or were all those cigarettes keeping people going in the 30's through the 80's?

I'm so confused on this subject.

It could be that people are staying up later, watching 24-hour TV, playing video games, watching "internet videos", plowing through facebook, drinking heavily and so on.

They "need" the caffine to cope for their poor decisions the night before. It becomes habit, and potentially addicting.

That would be my guess.

Easy E wrote:
What the heck is wrong with "modern society" that everyone feels so much pressure that they have to constantly take stimulants to keep going? What am I missing here? Is modern life all that more crazy than the past, or were all those cigarettes keeping people going in the 30's through the 80's?

I'm so confused on this subject.

In the 80's cocaine was quite prevalent, its less so today.

As to caffeine, I work in an industry that's heavily project oriented and also requires the coordination of multiple people on any given project. If you're a project manager, as I am at the moment, you frequently end up pulling 18-24 hour shifts bringing together all the material coming in from the people working under you in order to meet a deadline.

Also, caffeine is addictive in the same way as many substances, and it has withdrawal effects. I get significant headaches without it.

I just like the way coffee tastes.

Modern society is all about living fast. People work long hours, some accruing quite a bit of overtime - depending on their line of work, of course, but since you mention a "cubicle farm" I'm certain that you know what I'm talking about. As a result of pressure at work (project deadlines to be kept, efficiency reports, etc), many people feel the need for a boost. It's even worse in a competitive environment or for those guys who want to show off and climb up the ladder. Trying to actually have a private life and do stuff at home only increases this need even further, since doing more things logically results in people being more exhausted. It's a vicious cycle, and more often than not the weekend is not sufficient to reset it.

It is of note that the boosts doesn't just come from energy drinks, though. Coffee and cigarettes are just as guilty; it's only a matter of picking your poison, and that today we have more stimulants available for everyday use than in the past.

Here's a scary thought for the not-so-far future:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/sleep/basics/sleep-is-so-last-year.htm

"One of the most mysterious things about modafinil, even in view of its multi-pronged, targeted approach to sleep avoidance, is that it appears to trigger no "sleep debt." People who stay awake for a day or two on modafinil report no need to catch up on sleep when the dose wears off. [...]
Most of us don't have jobs that require us to save the world without a good night's rest, but the culture of productivity has too much momentum to stop its march toward a 48-hour day. As workplaces become increasingly international, work weeks regularly pass the 80-hour mark and more and more drive-thrus stay open for the 3 a.m. crowd, we can all look forward to a future that frees us from our biological urge to rest on a 24-hour cycle. Even sleep advocates see the shift as inevitable. In 10 or 20 years, sleep will be dispensable, artificial and controllable. Much in the way hormone-based birth control pills can now make a woman's period last exactly three days, occur on a quarterly basis or disappear altogether until she wants it back, science is separating sleep from the inconvenience of nature."

Easy E wrote:What the heck is wrong with "modern society" that everyone feels so much pressure that they have to constantly take stimulants to keep going? What am I missing here? Is modern life all that more crazy than the past, or were all those cigarettes keeping people going in the 30's through the 80's?

I'm so confused on this subject.

Mostly : availability. I'd say that previous generations probably didn't have access to sugary sources in the same amounts as we do. Or caffeine. Those two (especially sugar) are Nature's own little drugs.

@ Lynata ; can't wait for the sleugh of mental diseases and break-downs these artificial sleep replacement will cause...

Why do you assume this is new? Coffee and tea drinking are time honored traditions going back thousands of years.

Easy E wrote:What the heck is wrong with "modern society" that everyone feels so much pressure that they have to constantly take stimulants to keep going?

I don't think it's"pressure".

1) coffee is delicious.
2) your job sounds boring as hell, and people likely need stimulants to keep from falling into narcoleptic comas while performing it.
3) 24-hour media culture = less likely to get to bed early
4) caffeine has no significant drawbacks (few harmful side effects except when taken in extreme excess, cheap, legal and available)

Not a new phenomena.

Frazzled wrote:Why do you assume this is new? Coffee and tea drinking are time honored traditions going back thousands of years.

Pretty much this. You've not only got classics such as the British/Indian/Chinese obsession with tea, but other cultures like native South Americans with their use of coca leaves going back to prehistoric times. The only difference is that modern stimulant use is the presence of regulation (and prettier packaging).

Frazzled wrote:Why do you assume this is new? Coffee and tea drinking are time honored traditions going back thousands of years.

He speaks the truth.

Coffee with sugar will keep you going just as well as Red Bull.

Until you get the jitters.

The important thing with stimulants is to recognise the timings involved. When I had to pull an all nighter before a presentation back in the bad old research days, I timed my coffee drinking (which I don't normally indulge in, I'm a tea man) so that the caffeine would be hitting my system as I was giving my talk. Seemed to work. (Probably a total placebo though )

Most of these magical energy supplements are the same stuff in different boxes with maybe slightly different formulations. It's nothing major to worry about as long as people aren't over dosing on it.

Although I do cringe when I see some 15 year old "character" coming into my lesson polishing off a can of Monster.

Coffee and energy drinks do nothing for me at all.. well, coffee will keep me from falling asleep at night if I drink it like an hour or so before bed, but that's about it. So, I don't really get the obsession with morning coffee.. figured folks just like the taste, but I can't touch it unless my cup is half sugar. I prefer a nice, spicy chai tea... or mint. Also with lots of sugar

I need a caffeine fix in the morning (and again in the late afternoon) because there is a major difference between my body's natural sleep cycle and the desires of the modern business world.

Left to my own devices, I sleep from 4 AM to approximately 11ish and awake refreshed and fully aware.

The business world needs me in to work at 8 AM, requiring me to wake at 6 AM, and hit the sack at 8 PM if I'm going to awake as fully refreshed and aware (Needless to say, this rarely happens). Their need for my mindless presence at 8 costs them my best at noon. I assume there is a reason... but I'll be if I know what it is.

(Incidentally... yes, I have tried resetting the sleep cycle. Repeatedly. Apparently the light of the morning is what triggers my best sleep. Obviously I can't get that sleep if I'm at work at the time...)

I think im the only person i know that doesnt have a regular caffeine intake... the only thing w caffeine that i semi-regularly ingest is arizona icex tea, but its beena month since i had it last... i like to think that overall i function on par w my peers. If nothing else, i made it through 4 yrs of one of the toughest schools in the country and got my engineering degree.

Da Boss wrote:The important thing with stimulants is to recognise the timings involved. When I had to pull an all nighter before a presentation back in the bad old research days, I timed my coffee drinking (which I don't normally indulge in, I'm a tea man) so that the caffeine would be hitting my system as I was giving my talk. Seemed to work. (Probably a total placebo though )

Yeah, I've learned over the years that you need to start caffeinating before you're tired, anything after that is basically a placebo or a means to fend off a crash.

chaos0xomega wrote:I think im the only person i know that doesnt have a regular caffeine intake.

Me too. My wife pretty much only drinks Caffeine. However, when I do drink caffeine, I can feel the effects on my system.

I don't notice her being any more or less tired than I am though?

From what i gather caffeine becomes less efeective the more you ingest it unless you allow sufficient time to 'detox'. Caffeine doesnt, as i understand it, increase energy on its own, rather it triggers your body to release whatevee chemical does, the more caff in your system, the more you will need to take to trigger a response. This has limits too, as you can apparently overtax your bodies ability to produce whatever chem it is which leads to exhaustion if you take too much caff.... thats what i was told at least, dunno if its true.

I never noticed the effects of caffeine or much of a "sugar rush," at least not often. I used to drink energy drinks every day, somethimes multiple times a day. I recently cut out sugar and caffeine from my diet. I felt a bit sick for a day or two before coming back to normal, however I find that I now sleep less often and feel less tired than I did when I was chugging monsters with every meal.

Necros wrote:Coffee and energy drinks do nothing for me at all.. well, coffee will keep me from falling asleep at night if I drink it like an hour or so before bed, but that's about it. So, I don't really get the obsession with morning coffee.. figured folks just like the taste, but I can't touch it unless my cup is half sugar. I prefer a nice, spicy chai tea... or mint. Also with lots of sugar

Im the exact same way, the stuff never really kicked in for me. I drink sun tea by the gallon. Thats my drink, followed closely by a gak load of water

Being stereotypically British, a nice hot cup of tea is my drink of choice and has been for years. The amount of the stuff I drink in work might kill a normal human being

But it's never had any kind of noticable effect on me, maybe that's just because I drink it so often...

Mix a 5 hour energy shot with a monster energy drink.

It explodes


I drink coffee and I find in the mornings it doesn't keep me stay awake, and at night it keeps me awake no matter how tired I am

The only things coffee has ever done for me, is screw up my stomach and give me the shakes. Other then that, no extra energy at all

Energy drinks are for people who're too pussy to drink beer in public but want to look "cool".
Seriously though, the stimulant effect of these things is grossly exaggerated in popular culture. If you want energy, take MDMA or amphetamines. The legal stuff in those drinks doesn't do jack.

Joey wrote:Energy drinks are for people who're too pussy to drink beer in public but want to look "cool".

lol, what about..... idk, all my friends that can't legally drink booze?

Grow older


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Seriously though, I dont drink

I don't drink either, sort of surprising in a way.

Coffee though, gives me a migraine if I drink it and although while I do like the smell a touch being around it too long will start to set it off as well... I also tend to avoid energy drinks.

The Bringer wrote:

Joey wrote:Energy drinks are for people who're too pussy to drink beer in public but want to look "cool".

lol, what about..... idk, all my friends that can't legally drink booze?

This explains a lot...

There's also the whole "Drinking in public is illegal in many places." thing.

I go to college, i didnt even drink coffee before then, now i dont know how i could make it w/o it. I dont know how my friends who is forbidden from drinking coffee makes it.