@creadinger 16309 wrote:
Can you handle tea? It’s a bit more gentle on the stomach than coffee with less caffeine overall. I don’t handle caffeine well either, but in the way that I’m really sensitive to it rather than digestively. It will keep me up if I drink coffee after 6am basically. I have to reserve the strong stuff for long drives or things I know I’ll need to be awake for.
Once or twice I have brewed some tea in the evening, chilled it in the fridge overnight then put it in a water bottle as a little pick me up. I swear though that caffeine makes me sweat more, even though studies seem to show that that is a myth.
For some reason, tea causes other problems. When I tried it in the past, I got a bloated sensation very quickly. I probably haven’t had any tea in over a decade.
I find that managing sugar intake helps with drowsiness. Sugar on an empty stomach without any fiber or protein is guaranteed to knock me out, unless it’s in the middle of a long workout or immediately after. Other than those two situations, I try to limit sugar consumption. If I have any sugary foods, it will only be in combination with a lot of fiber and protein. That helps to slow down absorption of the simple carbs into the bloodstream.
A large breakfast and eating on a regular schedule throughout the day (maybe every 3 hours, even if it’s only a healthy snack, with protein and fiber) also helps with drowsiness and good management of blood sugar levels. (I’m not diabetic and I’m pretty fit, doing at least 10 hrs. a week of cycling, running, swimming and/or strength training. But I don’t handle sugar that well on an empty stomach when not exercising.)
I’ve largely sworn off caffeine completely. I was never much of a coffee drinker anyway.
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