If you use that much Red Bull, you got 2 issues (at least): the sugar gives a rush, but the bloodsugar level will plunge. And each time you continue it plunges even harder and faster.
Second, Red Bull or any caffinated beverage will attack your adrenal gland badly. Realy hard. Your adrenal gland is responsible for your adrenaline (duh) and gets triggered by the caffeine. So, it's not the caffeine that gives you a boost, but the adrenaline that gets released. Until it's gone, drought up, vanished. You can drink Red Bull till you die, but the adrenaline won't be there. Until you fix it.
You see, your body is a bank. A bank full of nutrient to be released when some other part of the body needs it. If you never make deposits, you won't get any interest either. If you only make withdrawals, you will end up with debit. If you continue you go bankrupt and die.
Healthy hackathons? I guess it's possible. I eat a lot of butter from grass-fed cows. I use omega-3 a lot and magnesium. My brains work much better and that without any caffeine. There are other supplements one can use, but always with moderation and enough sleep. Without sleep, your hormones won't get any rest or balance.
Hackers who think they have super powers and don't need sleep are having a Wall-Street mentality prior to 2008. Grow up, you only have one body, so you better take care of it.
There's always sugar-free Red Bull which is preferable to the sugary default kind, but I like high-quality green tea. After you wean yourself off the hard caffeine spikes of coffee or Red Bull, you realise green tea contains trace amounts of caffeine, enough to get you over the hump after your body readjusts. It's also antioxidant-rich.
Seems like quite an over-generalization. I agree that a rational Bayesian approach would favor organic foods, because thousands of years of natural selection is probably a better indicator than laboratory tests of long-term low-dose toxicities and important but uncommon complex molecules in food supplies. But that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of natural substances that are damaging to the human body even in moderation.
Caffeine directly stimulates the central nervous system.
You could set up a test where you drank a pot of coffee and then did something insane, I assure you that you will still feel the effects of the adrenaline kick from the insanity.
Absolutely! A well rested body and mind will perform much better than one forced to the limits. Proper rest and nutrition will give you the ability to win the marathon. These hackathons are sprints which can be good to get going fast, and if approached with the right mindset, can provide inspiration but rarely will produce anyone's best work.
Hackathons have their place. They are a good place to meet people and test new ideas. If you're expecting anything more, like I suspect the author does/did, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
I use caffeine actually primarily to control my ADD. The effect is harder to put my finger on, longer lasting, and more necessary for my work. If I am without caffeine for a couple fo days, my productivity drops modestly but that's ok. If I continue for a few weeks however at some point I may have trouble doing anything. I might spend all my time on HN at that point.
I do agree about energy drinks though. Tea works for me. I drink coffee in a pinch. Mix those with sugar and I can say goodbye to doing anything worthwhile though....
Second, Red Bull or any caffinated beverage will attack your adrenal gland badly. Realy hard. Your adrenal gland is responsible for your adrenaline (duh) and gets triggered by the caffeine. So, it's not the caffeine that gives you a boost, but the adrenaline that gets released. Until it's gone, drought up, vanished. You can drink Red Bull till you die, but the adrenaline won't be there. Until you fix it.
You see, your body is a bank. A bank full of nutrient to be released when some other part of the body needs it. If you never make deposits, you won't get any interest either. If you only make withdrawals, you will end up with debit. If you continue you go bankrupt and die.
Healthy hackathons? I guess it's possible. I eat a lot of butter from grass-fed cows. I use omega-3 a lot and magnesium. My brains work much better and that without any caffeine. There are other supplements one can use, but always with moderation and enough sleep. Without sleep, your hormones won't get any rest or balance.
Hackers who think they have super powers and don't need sleep are having a Wall-Street mentality prior to 2008. Grow up, you only have one body, so you better take care of it.