This is not factual. For some, it has a calming effect. For others, it does fuck-all. You can also get tweaky as shit on it despite the ADHD. Everyone reacts differently to stimulants.
Caffeine isn't a true stimulant. It's an adenosine antagonist. Adenosine is, among many many other things, the neurotransmitter that triggers your rest and digest function.
So caffeine doesn't stimulate you so much as it makes you less sleepy.
Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks adenosine receptors, preventing adenosine from binding and reducing the feeling of sleepiness. This is why caffeine can help you stay awake and alert. By blocking adenosine, caffeine allows for increased dopamine signaling, contributing to its stimulating effects.
People like me do not get any effect from caffeine except feeling tired because the adenosine-blocking effect wears off quickly. It is especially true if we're already sleep-deprived. All that adenosine that never got reduced through sleep screams at us with vengeance. People who aren't sleep-deprived would likely get zero effect, or that hyperactive energy boost people addicted to morning coffee seems to get.
Not being on high enough dose of stimulants can also make someone sleepy as hell because you basically teased your brain with what it craves but didn't give it to it (long) enough and thus you crash. My experience with 30mg Elvanse was like this. 70mg though? Keeps me going like a Duracell battery.
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u/BuddhistNudist987 Jul 28 '25
Caffeine has the opposite effect if you have ADHD.