Combining Caffeine with Sugar May Improve Concentration

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101123101751.htm

by notsosmart • 16 years ago

24 25 16 years ago

sciencedaily.com

roadnottaken• 16 years ago

Hasn't this been known for, like, a million years?

notsosmart3• 16 years ago

I thought there might be some value in knowing that a study confirms it.

burgerbrain• 16 years ago

I'd be incredibly surprised if this was actually the first study that bothered to confirm it. Aren't the effects of caffeine pretty well documented scientifically?

olalonde• 16 years ago

I personally skip nutrition related studies. It seems that for any given study, there is another one that says exactly the opposite.

troyk• 16 years ago

Cocoa supposed to be good for the brain as well. Think I'll pound a few mocha's and see if I can increase my kill:death ratio on call of duty.

jmtame• 16 years ago

anecdotally, i always struggled focusing with caffeine. look into green tea; it's not only very healthy but it's more of a calm and alert type of focused, no jitters or bursts of energy. 3-5 cups seem to work best for me.

wwortiz2• 16 years ago

I'm confused as green tea can have a similar caffeine content to coffee, especially at 3-5 cups.

annajohnson• 16 years ago

Green tea contains caffeine... so I'm confused too.

yesimahuman• 16 years ago

I also notice a much lower effect from green tea. I wonder if it's the different methods of preparation? Consequently I notice a much smaller effect from every single drink with caffeine when compared with plain coffee.

foljs2• 16 years ago

And who said he compared 3-5 cups of tea with ONE cup of coffee?

Also (from the wild intertubes):

amount of caffeine in an 8oz cup of various teas and coffee:

Coffee: 100 mg Black Tea: 40 to 50 mg Oolong Tea: 25 to 35 mg Green Tea: 20 to 30 mg Decaffeinated Black Tea: 4 mg Decaffeinated Green Tea: 4 mg

reneherse2• 16 years ago

My anecdotal contribution: Weaning myself completely off caffeine with a "descending dose" regiment of coffee to green tea to decaf tea to herbal tea has done wonders for my ability to focus.

I've been caffeine free for over 7 months and the health improvements make a good sized list:

• Better digestion due to the lack of caffeine induced peristalsis

• Insomnia completely gone

• No feeling "hung over" every morning prior to consuming caffeine

• No swings in energy level during the day except those traceable to hunger or physical fatigue

• Complete disappearance of mood swings, both hypo-manic and depressive

• Increased productivity due to a better ability to focus for long periods of time

The one complaint that I have is that my creativity has dramatically decreased during this same period. Gone are the racing thoughts and flights of invention that had me continually coming up with new ideas. Still working on a controlled, non-chemical way of getting back to that creative state...

Of course, YMMV, but if you suffer from depression or any form of bipolar or seasonal affective disorder I highly recommend getting off of everybody's favorite drug. It may be affecting your life far more than you realize.

wwortiz2• 16 years ago

If you don't mind, how much caffeine were you consuming prior to weaning yourself off and at what times?

It seems like those that drink caffeine when they wake up or to wake up have the worst symptoms, especially when going without it.

ekanes• 16 years ago

I'm in a similar boat, though I used caffeine mints to gently ease down that slope, reducing by one mint a day. Worked great. In terms of creativity, taking time off from tech helps a lot, and the occasional cup of coffee does as well, with a much larger mind-boost because it's no longer regular for my body.

mbm• 16 years ago

Another small victory for the ranks of corporate America.

ayu• 16 years ago

Pretty cool.

If you want to replicate this, please remember that they consumed only glucose!! Fructose, which is present in equal amounts in table sugar, sucrose, is definitely not good for you (unless you eat fibre with it, like in fruits). It's processed solely in the liver and in a way analogous to ethanol. You can get fatty liver from too much HFCS.

If you're interested, check out this review by Dr. Robert Lustig: http://www.scribd.com/doc/36173697/Bariatrician-Fructose

notsosmart3• 16 years ago

Would eating fruit along with a cup of coffee be a good way to replicate? Or would the there not be enough of a spike in sugar to get the same result?

hugh3• 16 years ago

Interesting. But how am I to distinguish this comment from any number of other random dietary opinions which may be complete bullshit?

foljs2• 16 years ago

You study it further?

Crazy, I know.

softbuilder• 16 years ago

Plus it has what plants need.

danielson• 16 years ago

...and speed?

Of course, one might first want to consider the depreciated effectiveness—relatively speaking—of the sugar, and of the caffeine, were they to combine all three.

Related: Kumail Nanjiani on new drug called cheese http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1cvKcGVy6k

brunoc• 16 years ago

Medium double-double please. Hopefully the cream helps too.

Combining Caffeine with Sugar May Improve Concentration

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