Reality Check - Does Caffeine Make You A Better Gamer?

LOL OF COURSE it does. Gamers are SUPER competitive and try to always get an edge on each other. If someone discovers that a thing gives you an edge, it spreads like wild fire, and conversely if something hurts you performance then the old behavior goes as fast as possible. I don't think I've been to a tournament where everyone wasn't fully engaged with Red Bull or Rally Energy's caffeinated mints! If it wasn't working for them, i don't think they would keep doing it.

I know this is going to sound like a sales call, but it isn't. My younger brother used to drink coffee, red bull, and 5 hour energy to game. I let him try a product called Capsi-Blast from ProMera Sports. He said he has never felt more alert (and he is a web coder). I just wanted to let you guys here know that we have a promo happening now. It is available for $5.99: that's the cost for shipping and handling. Please take my advice, even Cosmo Wright ordered some. Check out this link: https://www.promerasports.com/product/capsiblast-discount/

Is this even a question that needs to be pondered? Of course caffeine makes you a better gamer. Whether if it's faster split-second reaction times in CS or increased APM in SC, caffeine gets the job done.

Pretty accurate, good show.

Smokers believe that a cigarette makes them feel better, but in fact it is simply bringing them back up to a level that non-smokers enjoy all the time. So says Allen Carr, and I guess caffeine is the same.

I'll be completly honnest with you :

I don't drink coffee in the morning unless I'm totally drunk. Or I drink Monster or Red Bull, but no coffee in the "normal" days.

One weird thing I've experienced was playing CoD while smoking lots of weed and drinking lots of energy drinks, my heart acted really weird and I even think I missed some beatings, so it sacred me a little bit but it was okay, though I think I'm never gonna do that again (I mean with that much of weed and energy drinks), it's was a lot of stress, I barely kicked ass that night and I felt really uncomfortable with my body doing things it never did.

BUT, I still love energy drinks and stuffs, I'm just not a coffee guy, even if caffeine is present in both coffee and energy drinks. It's the taste, coffee is... I don't know it justs tastes like something I don't like, though I like the smell of it, it is weird cause the smell represents something like 55% of the taste... ^^

I have 1 coffee in the morning, no sugar, just a bit of milk and that's it. If I have too much coffee my hands get shaky and I can't draw, and so I can't work. Which would kill the point of having my morning coffee before work lol

As far as energy drinks goes, it's on rare occasions, every 2-3 months, if I know I have a long ass drive, and it's late, I'll grab a redbull and sip it throughout the road

I read an article in National Geographic stating that people who seldom drink coffee actually do get a boost in brain activity after consuming caffeine.

Cool T-shirt, Cam!

@Axxed25 weed increases your focus? Seriously?

Talking about how caffeine has benefits is so cliche; what is important is the more you play a video game, the better you will become.

Great video and great production. Thanks Cam

Will they ban performance enhancing drugs in eSports? Making LoL, Dota, Starcraft and COD players pass drug tests. That would be funny.

What is "altertness"? I think Gamespot spellcheckers are the ones who need caffeine.

Fantastic insights in this video, thanks!

As was to be expected, I suppose, it turns out that a drug like caffeine really doesn't help, after all.

Interesting stuff there Cam, I can apply this knowledge to my work life as well.

I have the odd can of Coke maybe twice a week. I drink a lot of Lucozade because I love the flavour, but feel tired afterwards. Stupid sugar. That's pretty much it for my caffeine intake, apart from however much is laced in normal food stuffs.

Cheers as always, Cam.

Well I only drink one cup of coffee a day , sometimes two but very rarely and I never drink energy drinks cause some time back this year I read on yahoo that a mom use to let daughter drink Monster energy drinks and she died cause of drinking this plus energy drink have more caffeine that coffee , here is the link to the story about the girl who died drinking Monster http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/anais-fournier-energy-drinks-caffeine-toxicity-poisoning_n_1373655.html well with that said I hope no one drinks energy drinks ever

I get a good night's sleep and wake up have some whole grain cereal, some fat-free yogurt, and a fruit. Gets me up every morning. Every other day I exercise as well (I take weekends off). No coffee or energy drinks required.

Remember kids, say no to drugs.

actually its the same with cigarettes

I don't drink coffee or any energy drinks. Also, I'm from Bristol so it was kind of cool to see you mention Bristol University...even if I never did go there

I only drink Coffee, not the shit energy drinks.

of course it makes you hyper

figured that out on my own was drinking coffe 3-8 cups a day tried to go off 2 weeks and now drinking 1-3 cups still feel tired but less and less i think by mid september i will be on single cup by start of oct should be able to go off, well thats atleast my plan writen. but its hard to say no to coffe after drinking it like crazy and yes i'm coffe junkie geting off the stuff still like the aroma of it will have to buy some coffe smeling candes :D

Cam = Hot, Scottish, and Smart. Triple threat. Where do I send the engagement ring? =D

Thanks for the show Cam. I guess besides the given facts about caffeine, this episode will greatly decrease sales of caffeine containing drinks.

I want to say being f'd up makes me better at gaming, but I'm better when I'm sober. I wish it wasn't that way, though. Caffeine doesn't really have an effect on my gaming.

Reaffirms everything I've ever suspected. In my class, there's quite a few students who drink 5 Hour Energy shots. Some drink 2 to 3 per day while I consume no caffeine whatsoever. One day I decided to see what all the fuss was and drank one of them right before a test. All it did was make me horribly anxious and jittery, and turned what should have been a 45 minute exam into an hour and a half test of endurance. Never again.

Now, a line of coke? Well...maybe in a future episode.

I read that caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors in the brain somewhere, effectively preventing the brain from slowing down for sleep, repair, etc. If that is indeed the case, the additional time awake can be helpful, but it comes at the cost of more recuperation time required later.

I'm a tea guy, and I drink out of a 2 pint jar, which means I have to use two tea bags. I discovered that a nice earthy black tea + sweet chamomile makes a potent thinking potion. The chamomile calms the nerves while the caffeine keeps you awake. It's very effective. Don't take caffeine alone :)

While we typically associate soda and other beverages that have caffeine in them as the big culprits there is a lot of other items that have caffeine as well. Some favorites: chocolate, ice cream, diet pills, pain relievers (such as Excedrin), breath fresheners, sunflower seeds, instant oatmeal, and beef jerky. Of course not all brands or products of these types have caffeine, but it is surprising that caffeine is in it at all.