I don’t drink coffee, nor do many of my friends, so my main objective at this table talk was to understand how coffee works and to gain insight into what it’s like to drink it often. Although many of the table talk participants did not drink coffee often, I was still able to learn how it impacts you. I did not know that the caffeine in the coffee only acts to mislead your brain and makes you think you’re not tired while your body is actually in need of rest. As a result, getting a sufficient amount of sleep is preferable rather than drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages that only trick you into thinking your exhaustion is alleviated. In addition, I found it particularly interesting that caffeine can remain in your system for to five hours after drinking it. This can lead to harmful effects on your sleeping patterns if you drink it at night as it can cause you to remain awake. Although I don’t drink coffee, I have had an energy drink a few hours prior to going to bed and I was unable to sleep for hours as a result. It was extremely detrimental to my sleeping schedule and my ability to function well the next day. Ultimately, based on the table talk and my own personal experiences, it’s much more important to ensure that you get a good night’s sleep rather than drink coffee often and need it to function efficiently, especially as prelims are beginning.
Rose Scholars Fall 2018
Endless possibilities
I definitely agree that getting a sufficient amount of sleep is preferable to just drinking coffee in the morning. I try not to drink it as much anymore because I drank it everyday in high school and I would get a migraine any day I attempted to skip my daily dose. Although coffee hurts the quality of sleep I get when I drink it at night, sometimes caffeine is necessary for trying to stay awake during late nights in Olin. I feel it should be something that people consume in moderation- like most good things in life 🙂 Thank you for the information on caffeine and its effects!
I find this quite alarming as I am an avid tea drinker and sometimes tea is the only reason I feel like getting up early in the morning. I do prefer getting a good night’s sleep, but for me, tea and coffee have more of a purpose of emotional benefits rather than trying to wake me up. I’ve been trying to reduce my intake but haven’t been successful and am trying to look for healthier options.
I find it extremely interesting that these small chemicals can interact with our bodies in fascinating manners, it’s like our brain is some kind of dev board that we can hack just by taking different substances. Certainly caffeine being one of the detrimental ones, I wish I had attended this, but clearly, neurotransmission is very complex.