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Does Caffeine improve focus/logical thinking?

Mar 23, 2010 at 9:41 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 48
Nocturnal310

Nocturnal310

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exam tomorrow.

normally drink one cup coffee per day

but will be on 3 cups tomorrow...as i wont be sleeping much.

so if i only sleep 2-3 hours..and load up on caffeine...will it also help in the focussing or logical reasoning/thinking or compromise those factors due to lack of rest?

its a 2 hour exam.
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 9:45 PM Post #2 of 48
theres no way to tell, beyond personal experience, how you react to that dose of caffeine, and what youve eaten

does a stimulant typically help you focus? if so, have you been able to have 3 cups in the past without losing focus and/or getting headaches?


also note that when sleep deprived, the caffeine will probably have a different effect on you than when rested
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:07 PM Post #3 of 48
i have taken more than 3 cups of coffee in the past...basically large doses of caffeine coming from a combo of coffee + red bull + coca cola.

no headaches...eyes often feel strained due to lack of rest...but thats about it.

i just feel anxious all the time though..which should help as i am a very laid-back guy who doesnt get tensed
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:40 PM Post #6 of 48
It depends on the person really and how well you are able to focus when not having that much sleep. When I was in college I had no issues with 2-3 hours of sleep and then taking an exam. I also knew people who would be dead when doing the same thing and coffee didn't help any for them.

Maybe the question you should ask yourself is how does your body respond the next day when you get 2-3 hours of sleep.
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:43 PM Post #7 of 48
If you haven't learned by now that you should never study the night before, I'll remind you - NEVER STUDY THE NIGHT BEFORE. Study 2 days in advance and get a decent amount of sleep the night before or you'll just be frustrated and not remember much on the exam. The kicker will be that when you walk out of the exam room, wait a few hours, you'll suddenly remember the answers to all the questions you missed.
biggrin.gif
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:56 PM Post #9 of 48
You don't want to study all in one night period. If you cram, you don't commit anything to deep/long-term memory and it's all going to be gone a few weeks later. If you just want a piece of paper from school that said you did your coursework, then sure, go for it, but if you actually want to learn something, don't cram at all. Do a bit of work one night at a time, go over what you did, and it will stick that much better. Once I figured that out I never had to cram for anything, and spent a lot less time on schoolwork too.

Loading up on caffeine is fine up to a point - once you have too much in your system, you will get an extremely unpleasant buzz that makes it impossible to concentrate, will have raise your pulse and blood pressure, will make you nauseous, and generally will make things suck a lot. You're better off taking an hour or two long nap before your test than you are loading up on one or two more cups of coffee.

My record staying up so far is 4 nights/5 days straight with NO sleep at all, and to say that I was anything other than severely impaired and quite delusional at the end of it would be a lie.
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:57 PM Post #10 of 48
Back in the day I used caffeine with success in having to cope with working weekends as the sole person in my position where the workload tended to bottleneck (the rest of the staff had nothing to do if I wasn't working faster than them). The coffee gave me focus and drive, helping me stay in the zone. Was there an improvement in logical reasoning? No, especially not with an increased dose, which could at times muddle my thinking.

Over the last several years I've transitioned myself away from using coffee for an energy boost at work. Real sencha or matcha will deliver a significant caffeine boost modified by theanine, the synergistic effects of which can improve concentration without the risk of your focus being carried away by the jittery mental hyperactivity that tons of coffee will lead to. The theanine will in effect keep you calm while the caffeine keeps you alert, which can only be good for an exam.

If possible, study a lot and then get some sleep. Nothing is worse for exam prep than lack of sleep, especially if you did most of your cramming the day before. Your brain needs time to set that data down in wrinkles.
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 10:59 PM Post #11 of 48
Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif
If you haven't learned by now that you should never study the night before, I'll remind you - NEVER STUDY THE NIGHT BEFORE. Study 2 days in advance and get a decent amount of sleep the night before or you'll just be frustrated and not remember much on the exam. The kicker will be that when you walk out of the exam room, wait a few hours, you'll suddenly remember the answers to all the questions you missed.
biggrin.gif



i agree..

but no choice..as i ignored this subject before.

will try to get effective sleep and understand instead of mugging up.
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 11:10 PM Post #13 of 48
Tea will be better than coffee, it contains natural tranquilizers that should help you relax during the test, but don't overdo anything. Too much caffeine of any sort will make you jittery and unfocused.

When I wrote a huuge paper over a period of 3 days while still going to school, I didn't sleep. After the second day, though, I took 15 minute naps every couple hours, and those were the best thing ever. If I felt myself fading, and becoming unproductive, I set a timer, and just cleared my mind. I got up feeling awake and alert, and it persisted for about 2 hours. It was great.

I also took walks (It was in December, and about 10F out) at like 2 in the morning to help me focus. One time, a cop pulled me over 2 houses down from my home, and wanted ID. I'm 17, so it's legal for me to be out past 11 in my town, but I live on what is more or less a dead-end street with no traffic. What the hell was a cop doing there?
 
Mar 23, 2010 at 11:17 PM Post #14 of 48
Mar 23, 2010 at 11:34 PM Post #15 of 48
Cramming the night before sucks and I've been there and I really don't think the caffeine will take away from your concentration, it will be the lack of sleep that may be the factor. Good luck on your finals.
 
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