I’m not a big coffee or tea drinker so when I attended this Table Talk, I was curious as to how caffeine really affects me. The discussion circulated around what caffeine did to the mind. People tend to drink it when they’re tired, thinking that the caffeine would wake them up and reverse their exhaustion. However, what really happens is that your body remains tired after caffeine, but your mind is tricked into thinking it is not tired. The deprivation of sleep you get by drinking caffeine is very hurtful to your body. Additionally, decaffeinated does not mean that your drink has no caffeine. I found that to be the most surprising fact from the table talk. As prelims come around, I realize the best strategy is to stay away from caffeinated drinks, whether it be coffee or soda, in order to really listen to the signals your body is telling you. If you are tired, the solution is not caffeine, but sleep.
Rose Scholars Fall 2018
Endless possibilities
I agree with you that the solution to tiredness is sleep. I don’t drink coffee as well and have found that even when I do, I often get tired from it instead of the opposite effect. I do drink tea but it usually is decaffeinated and now that you say that decaffeinated doesn’t mean that there is no caffeine, I wonder if my tea has caffeine in it or not.
As a person who relies on coffee to stay awake, it is interesting to hear you say that caffeine doesn’t actually make your body less tired, and that caffeine is only a trick for your mind. I try to get as much sleep as possible, but some days when I can’t sleep, I have to rely on caffeine so I can complete my tasks for the day. I am concerned about my health, so I will try to consider the negative impact caffeine, as well as the lack of sleep, has on my body.