Paraxanthine vs Caffeine: Which is Better for Focus?

Welcome to another episode of MTE Tries It!, where one of our writers compares MTE’s caffeine-free energy powder to a caffeinated energy drink and then waits to see if their heart stops. For this one, I decided to compare MTE with coffee and apply it to study sessions.

As a grad student, my life is literally always on fire, which is fine, because everything is fine. So I’m constantly looking for ways to maximize my time – focus in and be productive. That can be a bit difficult when you feel out of your depth tracking fractional crystallization during magmatic differentiation. It can also be a bit difficult when you’re tediously grading the same assignment for 80 students.

Despite fully understanding caffeine’s not good for me, I drink coffee every day. But the amount of coffee it’s taken me to get this far in the semester is… concerning, to say the least.

So I was like, hey – why don’t I see what MTE does? We just switched to a caffeine-free version powered by paraxanthine – maybe this’ll let me have my stimulant cake and eat it too – without the jitters and crash.

Not familiar with paraxanthine yet? To learn all about paraxanthine – a caffeine metabolite scientifically-backed to boost focus, energy, mood, metabolism, and more, check out our deep dive: Understanding Caffeine’s Metabolites & How Paraxanthine Works.

Methods

For this experiment, I decided I would do 4 trials – 2 caffeine and 2 paraxanthine. I used the most consistent part of my schedule: Monday and Tuesday mornings, when I (attempt to) spend 2 hours grading and 3 hours doing thesis research.

The first week, I drank coffee on Monday and MTE on Tuesday. The second week, I repeated this in the opposite order, and also had to change one problematic variable I encountered the first week. I then rated my study session based on three criteria:

1. Mood change from beginning to end of the grading portion
2. Motivation left over after the thesis research portion
3. How much of the time I actually spent doing what I meant to

I went in with no particular hypothesis; I’m familiar with the scientific literature on both caffeine and paraxanthine, but I didn’t have any specific expectations. I should also disclose that I have an Adderall prescription that’s at play, as I usually take it in the morning.

Week 1: Coffee vs Paraxanthine

In our poorly constructed experiment, a flaw that immediately stands out: the subject is already addicted to coffee. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Week 1, Monday: Coffee

This was essentially just a baseline morning for me.

1. I began grading at less-than-enthusiastic and ended at wow-why-don’t-people-try-harder. The amount of feedback I gave was consistent in usual volume, and was slightly terse – also usual.
2. After 5 hours of grading and research, the only thing I had motivation to do was be finished with the day. But it was only 1pm, so I just had more coffee and went to the office instead. (It’s not lost on me that my total loss of motivation was, in fact, a caffeine crash.)
3. I probably wasted about 1 of the 5 hours? Finding reasons to get up from the computer, letting the kitten distract me, looking into a subject that has nothing to do with the task at hand, etc.

Week 1, Tuesday: MTE Paraxanthine

I learned a hard lesson this day. When I drank MTE and sat down to start grading assignments, I noticed that after 15ish minutes or so, I was already getting into a groove. I felt alert but not ALERT, and less frustrated than usual when grading. Okay!

Then I forgot I hadn’t taken my Adderall that morning. So I took it.

Mistake. Catastrophic failure. Trial I over. While caffeine and my meds play well together, not so with paraxanthine. But that’s science mishaps, right? We’ll try again next week. I’ve also heard from several others this isn’t a problem for them, so it might just be a me thing!

Week 2: Paraxanthine vs Caffeine

Now that I knew I’d have to remove Adderall from the equation when doing this experiment, I thought – maybe this is better anyway? I can see if coffee is actually doing any of the heavy lifting, and I can experience MTE without anything else in the way. So here’s what went down:

Week 2, Monday: MTE Paraxanthine

This is going to sound salesy, but my morning experience with MTE was legit, even if I didn’t get the satisfaction of waking up to the smell of dark roast wafting through the house.

1. I started grading out less-than-enthusiastic but ended up almost annoyed I didn’t have time to give more feedback in each student’s assignment. I gave out a lot more “Good job!” and “Nice work!” comments, and I got more done than usual.
2. I went hard on the thesis research, to the point where over 2 hours had passed before I thought to look at my phone or refill my water bottle. I went down a bit of a research rabbit hole that wasn’t completely relevant to the subject, but I really enjoy those, so I’m taking it as a positive.
3. This was probably one of the most productive mornings I’d had – not just without caffeine, but also without my Adderall. I don’t really feel like I wasted any time. So that’s neat.

Paraxanthine worked the opposite of caffeine: with caffeine, you can feel the changes happening all at once, but with paraxanthine, I just quietly noticed that I was in a clear, alert, focused state of mind after it had already happened. Weird but cool. Not mad. Plus, I got so much stuff done that I actually had time to make dinner that night instead of ordering out!

Week 2, Tuesday: Good Ol’ Coffee

It wasn’t the coffee; it was the Adderall, y’all. This experience would have been laughable if it hadn’t put me behind for the day:

1. Started grading out pissed off and ended up more pissed off. Feedback was the normal volume and tone it usually is on my usual coffee+meds cocktail, but I often felt myself staring at an assignment and just zoning out. That added up to significant time lost and less assignments graded.
2. I barely dragged myself through the research portion of the session. Like, staring at the screen struggling to keep my eyes open. Reading the same paragraph 3 times and still having no idea what it said. And I really enjoy the subject, so the fact I just wanted to slam my head into the desk and sleep for 2 days says something.
3. Y’all, I spent so much time finding reasons to do something – anything – else. I cleaned the house – truly. I probably spend a total of 2.5-3 hours out of the 5 doing any real work. And it was not focused in the least.

Like I said – laughable, except it totally sucked.

Conclusion: What is it That You Want from a Focus Drink?

I have to say, if I were a better person and had an endless supply of MTE, I’d probably kick the caffeine and completely switch to paraxanthine. But then I do so love espresso... The takeaways:

Caffeine

Coffee, in this case – is old hat, in a good and bad way. I know exactly what to expect when I have too little, too much, or develop a headache halfway through the day because I skipped my morning latte. Literally a sign of addiction, but whatever. And now I know that, for me, it’s an absolute joke without the help of another stimulant!

Paraxanthine

MTE, in this case – is unknown territory that still feels familiar. It felt very similar to coffee, but without the part where I get anxious and mad at everything. I was able to zone in and keep on task, but it also wasn’t as noticeable of an effect, which can be taken good or bad. I did love the fact there wasn’t a crash, and it’s nice to think that I might be able to use my Adderall less without sacrificing focus or productivity.