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I'm an avid coffee drinker, but I'm worrying that coffee will wear off while taking PTs or the actual test. I'm also concerned that it makes me more excited/jittery than necessary.

Should I switch to tea? Less amounts of caffeine coupled with a placebo effect that makes me think that I'm caffeinated should work well enough, right?

Any opinions on this? Am I over thinking?

warandpeace wrote: Any opinions on this? Am I over thinking?

You're either overthinking like no one has ever overthought before, or you're a flame.

warandpeace wrote:I'm an avid coffee drinker, but I'm worrying that coffee will wear off while taking PTs or the actual test. I'm also concerned that it makes me more excited/jittery than necessary.

Should I switch to tea? Less amounts of caffeine coupled with a placebo effect that makes me think that I'm caffeinated should work well enough, right?

Any opinions on this? Am I over thinking?

If you're already an avid coffee drinker and you're taking the Dec. 1 administration, then just stick with what's been working for you. Though for me, I plan on cutting heavy fluid consumption out at least 1hr 15min before the test (meaning i'll sip or take a small size of fluid in the few MINUTES before the test so it doesn't become a problem during section 3).

If you're concerned about the caffeine diminution, then buy some caffeine pills and half one of them (they're usually 200mg, so half would be about the equivalent of a standard cup of coffee) and take it before at a time you think would be best (to help give you an idea of time, it tends to take about 15-30 or so to kick in but of course this may vary).

Be a man and drink whiskey

warandpeace wrote:I'm an avid coffee drinker, but I'm worrying that coffee will wear off while taking PTs or the actual test. I'm also concerned that it makes me more excited/jittery than necessary.

Should I switch to tea? Less amounts of caffeine coupled with a placebo effect that makes me think that I'm caffeinated should work well enough, right?

Any opinions on this? Am I over thinking?

Try tea on your next PT. I stopped with coffee (I'm an avid drinker too) because it made me way too anxious and frustrated easier on hard problems. Plus you sit in your seat for like 30mins before test is even administered. Take it slow

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Teflon_Don wrote:

warandpeace wrote:I'm an avid coffee drinker, but I'm worrying that coffee will wear off while taking PTs or the actual test. I'm also concerned that it makes me more excited/jittery than necessary.

Should I switch to tea? Less amounts of caffeine coupled with a placebo effect that makes me think that I'm caffeinated should work well enough, right?

Any opinions on this? Am I over thinking?

Try tea on your next PT. I stopped with coffee (I'm an avid drinker too) because it made me way too anxious and frustrated easier on hard problems. Plus you sit in your seat for like 30mins before test is even administered. Take it slow

This. I am an avid coffee drinker, and I didn't even consider switching for the LSAT. I tried switching to tea in UG because I was a math and econ double major: I would get really nervous before math exams and make mistakes. I found that switching to tea made me calmer before math exams, but I would make stupid mistakes/miss obvious things because I wasn't as alert as I was after drinking coffee. On balance I found that tea and coffee led to the same grades, but the path involved different kinds of mistakes. My anecdotal experience-which may not be worth much-suggests that it doesn't make much of a difference. Just make sure that you have extensively tested on PTs whatever you drink on test day . Happy Thanksgiving!

Funny story:

I drank a can of sparkling Hierba Mate drink (24oz) before the October LSAT. Id drank plenty of Mate before, but generally in the tiny traditional gourds (maybe an oz or two?), and always thought that it was a great shot of energy without the negative effects of coffee. I ended up having to take three mid-section piss breaks. FAIL!

Advice to OP - pick a routine and stick to it. Dont try anything new on test day, or even test week. You should try and have a regular sleep schedule, a regular meal schedule, and a regular caffiene intake schedule. Dont overthink it.

Guayakí is delicious, but best enjoyed in moderation

thanks everyone, you're all wonderful. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!