Caffeine vs Paraxanthine for energy
Short answer: For energy, more users report improvement with Paraxanthine — 93% of 14 reports, versus 83% of 908 for Caffeine.
Caffeine has 680 meta-analyses and 2,072 randomized trials on PubMed; Paraxanthine has 2 and 45.
Based on 2,414 reports about Caffeine and 28 about Paraxanthine. Not medical advice.
| Caffeine Substance | Paraxanthine Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 47%helped1,448 reports · high confidence | 91%helped12 reports · few reports |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | BResearch: Moderate |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 680 / 2,072 | 2 / 45 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Energy % reporting improvement | 83% (908) | 93% (14) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 83% (568) | 100% (9) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 16% (240) | 67% (3) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 74% (137) | — |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 15% (131) | 50% (2) |
| Common side effects | jitteriness, anxiety, insomnia, headache | anxiety, headache |
| Typical dose reported | 100-150 mg / daily | 200 mg |
To avoid reductions in total sleep time, coffee (107 mg per 250 mL) should be consumed at least 8.8 h prior to bedtime and a standard serve of pre-workout supplement (217.5 mg) should be consumed at least 13.2 h prior to bedtime. The results of the present study provide evidence-based guidance for the appropriate consumption of caffeine to mitigate the deleterious effects on sleep.
Sleep Med Rev, 2023 ↗“Personally, I feel and function much better if I keep my caffeine intake very low to zero.”
In contrast, the IRL of caffeine is not suitable to prevent positive doping test caused by the ingestion of more than 10 mg caffeine per day per horse with contaminated feed. The lack of corresponding regulation for paraxanthine, a major active metabolite of caffeine and theophylline, was recognised as a substantial shortcoming of the current system, rendering both IRLs incomplete.
Vet Rec, 2019 ↗“200 mg seems to be the perfect amount for me and has a shorter half life than caffeine with not noticeable crash.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate