So, are you a major user yourself? Even caffeine, which I use out of weakness and necessity, I worry about. Subjectively, it seems like my increased focus and lack of tiredness comes at a cost to my higher intellectual functions. No objective proof of this, though subjectivity counts for something.
Has anyone here achieved good enough control over their body where they don't need this stuff? Have you found a significant difference between operating on and off drugs when going without sleep for long periods?
I strongly recommend naps! It doubles the daily time when I can hit a flow state while coding, which is when I produce my best code. In terms of coding, I find the cloud that comes from tiredness to be worth always avoiding. I do this because coding's not like moving lumber where you're just slower if you're tired. Instead you'll move the lumber to the wrong place! If I'm not at-peak, I dedicate that time to grunt-work, research, but not coding. My newest approach is personal "sprints" where I ignore all distractions, set a big goal and race at it for 1-2 hours.
I would not recommend kratom or any stimulant as a substitute for sleep. The best thing for your productivity is natural sleep. For the purposes of productivity enhancement, I think kratom and coffee are best consumed during a day as slowly as possible... if you feel yourself getting tired or distracted, take a sip.
I don't feel that kratom use hinders higher intellectual function in sub-opiating doses but this is difficult to measure.
Has anyone here achieved good enough control over their body where they don't need this stuff? Have you found a significant difference between operating on and off drugs when going without sleep for long periods?