A Little History On Coffee

In case you have been living under a rock for your entire life, you probably already know that coffee is a drink that is prepared from roasted coffee beans that come from the coffee plant. It was discovered by Ethiopian goat farmers around the 9th century. The goat farmers noticed that when their goats ate the berries from the coffee plant they got a little pep in their step, so to speak. The drink eventually spread to Egypt, then all across Asia, and soon the entire world was drinking coffee. In fact, today coffee is one of the most popular drinks around the world.

Why Does Coffee Wake You Up?

What is it about coffee that gives us that pick-me-up energetic feeling? Well, it's the caffeine. Your average cup of coffee contains about 115–175 mg of caffeine. It is found in various other types of drinks and foods. For example, tea also contains a fair amount of Caffeine. It is an ergogenic, which means that it can positively affect physical or mental performance. This has been proven in various studies in which participants showed a significant increase in both physical and mental tasks.

Coffee As A Nootropic

The active ingredient in coffee, caffeine, is still on the fence as far as whether it is good or bad. The general consensus right now is that it may actually impair long term memory, while improving short term memory. This means that while under the influence of caffeine you may not be able to recall what happened last week, but you can recall things that are related to your current train of thought. This leads most to believe that caffeine improves your focus on a particular subject. So caffeine may not help you on a game show such as Jeopardy where the questions are spread across several different categories, but it may help you if taken before a test on a particular subject.

The Problem With Coffee

Caffeine is contained within a wide variety of plants because it is toxic and is a natural pesticide, meaning that it keeps bugs from eating the plant and thus ensures the plants survival. The problem is that caffeine is also toxic to humans. In a large enough dose (around 2 grams depending on your weight) caffeine can be fatal. It is also addictive. Once addicted to caffeine people can experience withdrawal symptoms that include, nervousness, irritability, shaking, and even depression. As with anything, the best bet with coffee is to use it in moderation.