3 Things You Need To Know About Coffee
Did you know that 50% of Americans admit to drinking coffee every day? And that 65% drink coffee with their breakfast? When asked, women are more likely to state that they drink coffee to relax, while men state they drink coffee to get the job done.
As coffee lovers, we obviously relate to these statistics and motivations … but it also had us wondering about how coffee makes people feel. What exactly is the reason that people drink coffee? Does caffeine really help you get the job done?
Well, luckily for us, Dr. Adam Smith of Cardiff University compiled data that gives us the answers we’re looking for. In his review, Effects of caffeine on human behavior, Dr. Smith details the major effects of caffeine that have been reported in humans. We have detailed these effects below for you so that you don’t need to go digging through scientific literature to find it!
How caffeine impacts human behavior (according to science):
- In not very shocking news: caffeine has been found to increase alertness while simultaneously decreasing fatigue. So, if you need to feel more awake and attentive, science is telling you to grab some caffeine!
- Caffeine helps you pay attention! If you need to accomplish something that needs your undivided attention, caffeine can help by increasing your attention span for tasks! This works best for simple tasks, because more ‘complex’ tasks also take into account how caffeine interacts with your personality and surroundings.
- Your daily caffeine intake can actually improve your mental functioning over time! So, no more feeling guilty in drinking your daily cup of coffee!
Now, we feel it is our duty to point out that these positive effects are for moderate caffeine consumption. There are negative effects of drinking too much caffeine, especially for people who already suffer from increased anxiety levels. In the case of too much caffeine intake, people often report feelings of anxiety and impacted sleeping patterns. However, this review paper also notes that people are generally good at managing their own caffeine intake – meaning that they are able to figure out the best amount of caffeine for themselves that maximizes their performance!
1http://www.e-importz.com/coffee-statistics.php
2Smith, A. 2002. Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 40: 1243-1255. doi:10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00096-0