Hey everybody, Caffeine Man here and
today we're gonna be going over caffeine pills or as I like to call them, cheap
man's caffeine. As mentioned in the title I'll go over if caffeine pills are safe
to use, as well as go over how much caffeine is in them, where you can find
them, how to properly use them and much more. All, coming right up. INTRO: C *THUD* M *THUD* *Lightning Strike* Hello again everyone.
Thanks for joining me! If it's your first time here and you want to
stay informed on all things caffeine related, feel free to hit the subscribe
button. I post new videos every Tuesday night. Today we're going over cheap man's
caffeine or most commonly known as caffeine pills. I'm gonna start off with
what caffeine pills are, how much caffeine is in them and where you can
find them. Then, I'll go over if caffeine pills are safe to use, followed by a discussion of the many different ways people do use them.
So, what are caffeine
pills and way do you get them? To many peoples surprise, in the United States you
can pick these up at your local pharmacy. You can usually find them in the sleep
aid aisle, which is kind of funny, and they're typically way down on the bottom shelf. The most common pill is a 200 milligram
pill which looks like this. I'll actually include a picture right there, since
they're so small, and it's scored in the middle so that you can actually break it
in half for 100mgs. So, are caffeine pills safe to use? Well, yes… and no. As a standard disclaimer, caffeine isn't for everybody. There are a lot of people that have a sensitivity to caffeine and it's not recommended for
pregnant women or children under the age of 12. And personally, I feel like that
age should be slightly higher. Also, for several health conditions such as heart
problems and anxiety, just to name a few, caffeine isn't good for those either. So
what about healthy adults? Caffeine pills are safe to use if used properly and as
directed.
I'm still surprised by how many people don't read the instructions for
practically anything. My wife will sometimes make dinner and
she'll be like, "Oh, this doesn't really taste that great," and I'll say, "Well did
you follow the instructions?" And then I'm in the dog house." *whisper* she didn't follow the instructions. But a majority of the time it is delicious! There are plenty people that try and
set up furniture and build other things on their own, without actually following
the instructions and then they're surprised when it doesn't come out right.
But listen, when it comes to certain things, you really do need to read the
instructions and follow the directions and if you're going to consider trying
caffeine pills, you need to read all the warnings and all the directions.
Pretty much with any pills, you should be reading the warnings and instructions anyway, not just medications, but over-the-counter medications and even supplement pills. But, I'm a helpful guy I
like to help you guys out, so if you're thinking about trying these, I'm going to
read the warnings and directions for you. First, we'll start out with just the
directions. "Adults and children 12 years of age and older, take half to one caplet not more than every three to four hours. Now, right off the bat, I'm not a
huge fan of those directions.
First, because I think the age limit should be slightly higher because a lot of kids don't need caffeine. Second, I don't think
they're specific enough in their directions, which is why it's also
important to read the warnings in addition to the directions. Some people
might look at those directions and say, "oh, okay, 1200 milligrams is perfectly fine to have in a day" and that is NOT true and that is Not what they're saying. There are 24 hours in the day and if you divide the 24 hours by 4 you get 6. So if you have 6 pills a day
that's 1200 milligrams, but these instructions are implying that you're
gonna have eight hours of sleep, which is the normal recommended amount.
And they
really shouldn't be implying that because if you're taking caffeine, you
might be taking it because you don't want to go to sleep. So I think it should
really say not to consume more than 4 caplets a day and they shouldn't assume
that people are gonna have their normal amount of sleep. What they need to say on
the label is not to consume more than 800, which is still a high number but
within safe limits.
This is why it's so important to read the warnings on the
label as well. First off, it says "For occasional use only," and it also says "Not
to be used as a substitution for sleep" therefore confirming the fact that you
should only be taking 4 pills a day and not 6, because they plan on you getting
eight hours of sleep, because it's not a substitute for sleep. Now, both the Mayo
Clinic and the FDA, recommends no more than 400 milligrams per day. Anything
over that on a regular basis can lead to dependency and potentially other side
effects. Now, not to say that people don't go over that amount because I know a lot
of people do, and they're okay, but 400 is the safe number recommended not to go
over. Obviously people go over it and obviously this container says you can
have 800. I mean these instructions have to be regulated by someone right? But notice that they specify a time and that's what's important here.
It's 200 mgs every 4 hours. The caffeine needs time to process
through your system, so don't think that you can have four pills in a day and be
safe and take all four at once, because that is not as directed. It's one pill,
every four hours. The directions are there for a reason. You can't just assume things. Consuming that much caffeine in a short amount of time we'll definitely have some negative effects. But once you hit the one gram mark you begin heading into dangerous territory. If you want to find out more
about caffeine overdoses and how much caffeine can kill you, I'm gonna include
a card above that'll take you to a video I did on, "how much caffeine will kill you".
I'll also include a link to the video in the description box down below. That's
right, too much caffeine can cause an overdose and potentially kill you
and that's where "Is caffeine safe for you?" comes into play in this video.
Caffeine is a serious topic. It needs to be properly used. It's safe… if used as
directed.
So, Why caffeine pills? Some of the most
obvious answers are the most common ones, which is college students studying for
exams or people that may be in a profession where they have to work 10 to
14 hours, without any notice, such as a medical profession or emergency medical
services. A caffeine pill is a safe way to stay awake and alert for a short
duration of time. But keep in mind, in those cases, the higher amount of
caffeine intake is a short term solution to an immediate problem.
The higher
dosage is not meant to be taken for long periods of time. In the case of students,
the exams are over and in the case of medical workers, their shift is over. In
those cases, they should go back down to their normal caffeine intake. Now,
caffeine is a diuretic, meaning that it can increase urine output. Now, combine
that with the fact that caffeine is usually in most beverages, those
beverages are gonna cause you to go to the bathroom a lot more because of the
liquid and the caffeine. But just having a caffeine pill is a better choice in
some professions such as long-haul truckers, airline pilots, bus drivers,
train conductors and uber or lyft drivers.
By having a caffeine pill
they'll get the benefit of the caffeine and the energy and focus, without the
excessive need to go to the bathroom from the fluids in coffee and energy
drinks. Let's look at someone's simple morning routine. Some people can't even
drink coffee in the morning because they might have a long commute, and as we know,
a long commute and a diuretic, they don't mix well! Then, you have the
people that like energy drinks but a lot of people that drink energy
drinks don't actually like the idea of having an energy drink in the morning.
I
think it goes along the lines of you shouldn't have a beer in the morning
either, but a mimosa is okay? Anyway, if you happen to have a long commute or
you actually plan on making a long drive on the weekend, then why not just take a
simple caffeine pill with some water to help you with your long commute or you
can even try caffeine water. What is caffeine water? Funny that you
should ask! I'll include a card above that takes you to a series I did on
caffeinated water. In many cases, a small amount of caffeine can go a long way. It
can help your morning commute and it can also help you after that lunch time two
o'clock slump when you just need to get over that hump to get through the day. In
cases where you're only gonna have 100 milligrams, 200 milligrams, or even just
300 milligrams a day you're staying within your safe limit of
400 milligrams, so caffeine pills are gonna be perfectly fine on a regular
basis.
It's no different than if you were just gonna have a morning cup of coffee
and an afternoon energy drink, without the added expense. And that leads me into our
next topic of Cheap Man's Caffeine. That's right, I call it cheap man's caffeine. Why? Because it's cheap! Now there aren't a
lot of cheap things out there. If you want to get yourself a large iced coffee
in the morning from Dunkin Donuts, you're gonna be paying about $3.
If you're a
Starbucks kind of person you might be paying anywhere from three to five
dollars for your coffee. And if you want to have yourself an energy drink, you're
probably going to be paying between two and three dollars for your energy drink
as well. So you're gonna be paying two to three dollars no matter where you go to
try and get your caffeine fix. But what about caffeine pills? The brand-name
No Doz is gonna run you about eleven dollars for a box of sixty caplets. The
generic brand that I have here, from CVS, it's gonna run you about eight dollars.
And that's not on sale.
If you're more of a Walgreens person, the same 60 pills
will run you about seven dollars, not on sale. And as we all know
these pharmacies always have sales on supplements. But let's just stick with
the regular retail value for now, and for that matter, there are so many other
generic pills out there that you can purchase online, that you can probably
get a cheaper price. They even some companies that have caffeine pills with
l-theanine in it, for more focus. So there are actually a lot of options out there
for you to get your caffeine and other stuff as well. But overall, you can get
200 milligrams of caffeine for just about 12 cents. That's right! 12 cents! As
opposed to three dollars a pop. And you get 60 of them! Which means you don't have to go anywhere every single morning to buy a drink. you always have these with you. And it's easy access for whenever you need them.
So like I said if you're cheap, but you like caffeine, I just saved you a whole heck of a lot of money! Cheat Man's Caffeine! When it all comes down to it, caffeine pills are a safe option for caffeine users. When used properly and as directed .Caffeine pills can help you
stay awake, remain alert, and provide increased energy. It's important to use
caffeine pills as instructed, because caffeine is a drug which is best used in
moderation.
Thanks for joining me today. If you feel like you learned something,
feel free to hit the like button. Also if you want to stay informed on all things
caffeine related, hit the subscribe button. I post new videos every Tuesday
night and hope to see you there. Until then have a great day… or night. .
