The effects of caffeine on the autistic mind

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Not really. For most people, it either does nothing or slows down the brain's function. However, this could indicate that you may be on the spectrum. I suggest getting a professional diagnosis

My body becomes overwhelmed by the speed of my brain and tends just to shut down more often than not.

I love coffee and average about five cups a day. It's self medication for ADHD I think, but love the taste as well.

Sometimes it worsens my social anxiety but I'm very used to it. Coffee after dinner doesn't affect my sleep anymore.

Caffeine doesn't affect me much. Sometimes the sugar in caffeinated drinks gives me a noticeable energy boost if my blood sugar is low, and if I drink too much of it I get heart palpitations but remain tired. It cancels out my melatonin pills, though, so I have to be careful about drinking it late at night.

@rats_and_cats

Caffeine cancels out melatonin? I never knew! That's why it doesn't help me sleep then. Thanks for that!

That's probably not the right medical terminology, though. I don't know if it does anything specifically to melatonin, but it's made to keep you awake and melatonin is made to make you fall asleep.

Well, caffeine does tire me out, but I always wondered why it doesn't work for me.

Caffeine's molecular structure is similar to that of Adenosine. When Adenosine binds itself to it's recepters, it slows down the transfer speed of neurotransmitters. Caffeine works by binding itself to these recepters instead, preventing Adenosine from doing so. This causes the transfer speed of the neurotransmitters to speed up.

This is all really interesting. I have switched to decaf tea in the morning for awhile and am going to experiment with caffeine a bit more formally to see what it does to me. What does chocolate do to anyone? I always think it helps me sleep, but that may be wishful thinking more than anything else .

Make them obese?

Not so far for me and I eat it every day.

Chocolate has caffeine in it and other "feel good" chemicals.

I find that caffeine kills the negative emotions that I might experience and it enhances my positive emotions. Energy drinks have the strongest effect of this type on my mind. I'm thinking I might drink on of those drinks for lunch at work, next Friday. That way, I won't be crying when I say goodbye to my favourite coworker who's been promoted to a higher up position at another bank. The drink will help me to "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON".

Just be wary of tolerance and withdrawal. When I withdrawal from caffeine it feels like ADHD-MAX, but it settles down after a while if I avoid caffeine completely. (Which I just can't seem to do!)

I don't drink coffee but I do drink soda & sometimes take a Vivarin which is a caffeine pill that is the equivalent of one cup of coffee. Soda & Vivarin help me feel more awake but that's the only effect I've noticed unless I take two Vivarin & then I get hyper & shaky.

For your consideration, the thread

What Are You Drinking Right Now?