Caffeine vs Production

[outbound]

Okayyyyy so I've been thinking this a lot recently. Drinking tea / coffee does it actually help with production or is it just a short term fix that does more damage than good in the long run?

I find that when it isn't in my system I find it incredibly hard to get motivated (this is to do anything let alone music) and although this is mostly due to the withdrawal affects I'm wondering if it was completely out of my system would I still be able to keep up?

Please feel free to bring your own opinion to the table and I'm interested to see what other people think on the matter.

[Electric_Head]

Coffee doesn`t effect me the same way it effects you apparently.
I drink it because I like it not because I need it.
I can drink coffee just before bad and have a good night sleep.
I drink strong coffee as well so I would think it would give me a buzz like everyone else mentions.

If I`m producing I won`t go make a cup just because I think I may need it to be more alert or something.

[Mad_EP]

Caffeine definitely helps me - especially during long sessions.


BUT

There is also merit in specific one-shot scenarios as well. For instance, one of my fave things to do is to roll out of bed.. and before I can even open my eyes properly, bash out a beat / riff / riddim in Live with a pre-mapped template. Have made some seriously ill stuff cos I was still half asleep and not yet in reality.

[NinjaEdit]

I meltdown without coffee.

Good thread.

[Electric_Head]

I substitute coffee with bong.

[Today]

i supplement coffee with bong

[joegrizzly]

Doesnt have to be coffee just as long as my sugar intake is high... and also bong till I die

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

I think it helps becuase its relieving withdrawal symptoms lol.

[Muncey]

When I was working I got into a bad habit of drinking about 10 cups a day. I have a pint mug now and I drink roughly 5-8 pints a day (10-16 normal cups), depending what I'm doing.

I can function fine without it, I just like the taste..

Saying that its always taken me well over an hour from first waking up to actually feeling awake. I can lay around for 1-2 hours after waking up because I have no energy. If i have a coffee as soon as I wake up I'm fully awake and ready to do whatever.

[Sharmaji]

coffee when i've got computer work OR I WILL RAPE YOU IN THE FACE

if i'm tracking, no coffee-- seriously puts me ahead of the beat.

[Alistairr]

coffee is dangerous, cause if ur producing for a long period of time like i was when i was unemployed, u can get into bad habits and start drinking it too much, the long term damage is significant believe u me, the major effect is obviously irregualr sleeping patterns, this can cause horrific strain to u mind and heart.

Im speaking from experience, i love coffee but keep a head count on how many cups u having a day and if its affecting ur sleeping patterns.

so, so important to have regualr hours sleep.

[joegrizzly]

coffee is dangerous, cause if ur producing for a long period of time like i was when i was unemployed, u can get into bad habits and start drinking it too much, the long term damage is significant believe u me, the major effect is obviously irregualr sleeping patterns, this can cause horrific strain to u mind and heart.

Im speaking from experience, i love coffee but keep a head count on how many cups u having a day and if its affecting ur sleeping patterns.

so, so important to have regualr hours sleep.

I'm fucked I've been stayin up anywhere from 4-6 am since I was 16, I'm 23 now and got the worst sleepin problems imagineable

[samurai]

Caffeine definitely helps me - especially during long sessions.


BUT

There is also merit in specific one-shot scenarios as well. For instance, one of my fave things to do is to roll out of bed.. and before I can even open my eyes properly, bash out a beat / riff / riddim in Live with a pre-mapped template. Have made some seriously ill stuff cos I was still half asleep and not yet in reality.

this is a great idea.

[jaws]

current working caffeine combo:

grand black coffee from sbux, then 2 venti orange blossom teas as chasers

then follow up with 2 more orange blossoms later in the day, then a trenta iced green tea with 1/4 passion fruit tea

it works because I don't feel like I ever crash.

yeah, i'm blowing too much money at starbucks.

[AxeD]

All about crack yea?

[nowaysj]

if i'm tracking, no coffee-- seriously puts me ahead of the beat.

I've found this to be one hundred and fiftythousand percent true.

[nowaysj]

Don't conflate something like green tea and coffee.

Coffee gives me psycho buzzes, like scarey people on the streets could be selling what it does to me. Green tea wakes me up, sharpens me up, but doesn't get me really buzzed. Also, I've found coffee to be really bad for other aspects of my body, so much so that I can't really drink it (but I love it, one of the hardest things I've had to give up).

Taking any kind of drug and making art is potentially dangerous, imo. I would suggest mindfulness of really what is happening, what is really happening with your creativity, problem solving, general approach, and the outcomes that you eventually realize.

[VirtualMark]

I think coffee is fine in moderation, like most things. I tend to drink a cup or two when producing as i enjoy it. I'd say that anything taken to excess is bad tho, and its pretty well documented that a lot of coffee can have negative consequences.

As for sharpening up my production, i've never seen any difference. I don't get a buzz from coffee, i could drink it before bed and sleep fine.

[alpz]

Coffee is delicious, making music is fun. If I feel like making music but I also feel like drinking coffee, I will get a coffee and make music. Coffee doesn't change thought patterns, coffee doesn't give you unique insights, doesn't ignite a spark that makes you try something new, at most (for me) it will make me feel compelled to shake my leg when I am sitting down or give me a small boost to get going in the morning. You guys are talking about coffee as if it were meth or something. >.< If you have a habit of drinking coffee every day, keep drinking coffee everyday, otherwise your concentration will be shit for a little bit. But having caffeine in/out of your system isn't going to make you a world class producer the same way that smoking pot won't, it's just something to do.

But that's just like, my opinion, man.

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

I'm fucked I've been stayin up anywhere from 4-6 am since I was 16, I'm 23 now and got the worst sleepin problems imagineable

story of my life!!! Like shit seriously stops me from doing anything

Coffee is a funny one, it depends. I tend to only really drink coffee if i need to, if I'm real tired and need t osqueeze out another couple of hours but remember that even though it makes you more alert it actually fucks creativity or even trying to think straight. Some scientists did experiments on caffeine on spiders compared to other chemicals (there's a spoof of this but it was actually a real experiment) and the spider webs were a fucking scribble on caffeine, as well as twice as large! Interestingly enough when exposed to tiny amounts of LSD the webs came out geometreically perfect...

Anyway, sometimes, sometimes not... meh, pointless post...