Is it true that caffeine doesn’t actually work to improve energy

Caffeine does not inherently create more energy in your system. Instead, it blocks adenosine, a chemical responsible for sleepiness, from binding to its receptors, temporarily masking fatigue and making you feel more alert and energetic. However, this effect is not actually increasing your body's energy supply; it's delaying the perception of fatigue. Once caffeine wears off, adenosine can bind to receptors again, often leading to a rebound effect where you feel even sleepier than before 1.

Andrew Huberman explains that caffeine can enhance performance, particularly in those who do not consume it regularly. For daily consumers, caffeine helps maintain typical mental and physical functioning, but doesn't enhance abilities beyond one's normal baseline unless one abstains for a period 2.

In many cases, caffeine's ability to enhance alertness and performance is due to its effects on adrenaline and dopamine levels, not because it adds energy but because it facilitates more efficient use of existing biochemical pathways 3 4.