My sensitivity of caffeine has been the curse of my existence. Serious. I love the coffee smell, the taste. I work in coffee shops all over college and really have the pleasure of making all the fussy drinks. But every time I drink stuff, only a few got me very wired for a long time. Half a cup of joe at 8 am? Probably will not sleep until the next day. When friends want to meet in coffee shops, I am stuck with a stale, weak, bitter decaf and a good deal of eye rolling from a barista. Of course there are other options on the menu, but no herbal tea is what I want.
And it's not just coffee. A little soda as a drink mixer? This is not the buzz of alcohol I'm worried about. A dark brown square for dessert? Not if I want to be a shaky mess next day. On days when I can actually use pick-me-up, I have to consider the result: the caffeinated today means being sleepy tomorrow, and the cycle continues.
Limiting the amount of caffeine I take is never an issue; It is a way to remain energetic without it. Luckily because there's a whole lot of food that has slow digested proteins and complex carbohydrates to keep me going. Exercising in the morning tends to give me a big boost, as well as mid-morning or quick dusk to swig some, you think, fresh air.