Caffeine myths
Does coffee stunt your growth? Sober you up? Dehydrate you? The claims people repeat, checked against the evidence.
Coffee stunts your growth, sobers you up, dehydrates you, and is stronger the darker it gets. Each of these has an origin, and none of them survives contact with the evidence.
Knowing where a myth came from is usually more useful than the correction itself, because it tells you what the real mechanism is. Start with whichever one you have been told most often.
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Does coffee actually dehydrate you?
No — moderate coffee doesn't dehydrate you. The water in it outweighs caffeine's mild diuretic effect, so coffee counts toward your daily fluids.
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Should you wait 90 minutes for your first coffee?
Delaying your first coffee has a plausible cortisol-and-adenosine rationale but limited evidence. Worth a try — but the evening cutoff matters more.
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Dark or light roast: which has more caffeine?
No — roast level barely changes caffeine. Why 'strong' isn't 'caffeinated', the scoop-vs-weight twist behind the myth, and what really drives your dose.
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Does coffee sober you up? The dangerous myth
No — coffee makes you feel alert but doesn't lower your blood alcohol. Why 'wide-awake drunk' is dangerous, and what actually sobers you up (only time).
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Does coffee stunt your growth? No — here's why
No — there's no good evidence coffee stunts growth. Where the myth came from, what really sets your height, and what actually matters for kids and caffeine.