TLDR: Caffeine is misunderstood, but maybe perception is reality.
I think most people see coffee as something that gives you energy, but in reality, it actually blocks sleepiness and stimulates dopamine creating the synthetic equivalent of alertness and an increase in mood.
Essentially caffeine is just blocking receptors (A1, & A2A) in your brain to produce a conscious experience that better suits how you want to experience the world: less sleepy, more happy.
I think about this little factoid an unusual amount.
Things are not as they seem.
Caffeine doesn’t give you energy, but it does the same job.
Caffeine doesn’t make you genuinely happier, but dopamine simulates it.
Caffeine doesn’t make up for lost sleep, but allows you to perform in-line with expectations you have of yourself—working harder, being more alert or outgoing, improving a workout, etc.
So I often question other things on this same premise.
What is actually happening, and does it even matter?
Is perception the same as reality?
I like to think that it’s not, but on so many occasions it is.
Take the Pygmalion Effect, for example, where increased expectations lead to improved performance.
Or the Placebo Effect, where the belief in the treatment itself is the reason for its impact.
Ultimately though, does it matter so long as you achieve the intended outcome?
Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn’t.
That is the curious question of caffeine and perception versus reality.
See you Monday.