Coffee for life
Coffee for Life
If we would ask you what is the drink commonly used across the world beside water, you would probably say – coffee.
And you would be right. Besides a great taste it also has many benefits especially cognitive performance.
Drinking coffee is probably one of the most widespread brain power enhancers. Caffeine travels to the brain and blocks a neurotransmitter called Adenosine. As a result, norepinephrine and dopamine increase, which keep us energized. Coffee beans have a lot of antioxidants, and also contains a lot of magnesium.
What is the Best Time to Drink Coffee
For the ordinary person, drinking coffee immediately after waking up is the only thing that gets them going. They open their eyes, roll out of the bed and have to crawl to get their dose. But those are first signs of dependence and overdosing. It’s not the ideal time to be consuming caffeine either. Coffee acts as a stimulant for the body that triggers some physiological processes. Our biology is already connected with the planetary movements and circadian rhythms.
Between the hours of 8-9 AM, our cortisol levels are at their peak. Cortisol rises in the morning so trigger increased alertness and focus so we are already fully alert when you wake-up. So, if we simultaneously drink coffee, we’re wasting the potential benefits of caffeine and offsetting the circadian rhythm.
Coffee and Sleep
The reason some people can drink coffee even just a few hours before going to bed and still fall asleep just fine, is that our metabolism differs between individuals and we have our own unique type
- The fast oxidizer is someone who digests food very quickly and converts it into energy rapidly. They need to focus on eating heavier meals with more fat and protein that would keep them satiated. By the same token, they will also absorb caffeine that much faster and it will go through their system almost in an instant.
- If you’re a slow oxidizer, then you need more time to convert food into energy. Because of that, you require more carbohydrates, rather than protein and fat. Getting the benefits of coffee will also be less rapid.
How much coffee shoud you drink
Doses of 600 mg are often comparable to the effects of modafinil, which is a top-notch nootropic and cognitive enhancer. It’s a smart drug but there are no reported advantages over large amounts of caffeine.
To avoid any unwanted side-effects, use filtered coffee. Darker roasts have less caffeine in them, due to the roasting process.
Benefits of coffee
- Coffee has mood-enhancing benefits so give it a try.
- It will increase attention span, the speed at work and may even benefit recall.
- Use caffeine to rush through the repetitive activities that require a lot of micromanagement and aren’t too difficult. This way you’ll waste less time doing the small stuff and can free up more space for focusing on what’s more important.
- Once you take your first sip of the day, you can immediately feel an energy rush due to the release of adrenaline and dopamine.
- At the same time, coffee will still increase your metabolic rate and has other physical performance enhancing effects.
- Caffeine has a positive impact on muscular contraction and fatigue, which makes it a great tool for training. When it comes to performance, then drinking a larger dose of caffeine 15-30 minutes earlier will yield some great results. Sipping on some beverage intra-workout is also viable. Even more, post-workout caffeine can also help to refuel muscles and increase fat burning.
- Coffee consumption has been correlated with improved insulin sensitivity, suggesting that coffee may exert protective effects through attenuating insulin‐induced hepatic fibrosis and/or NAFLD as a co‐factor in liver disease progression.
- Coffee helps with reduced absorbsion and formation of oxidized lipids.
A famous French philosopher of the Enlightenment Voltaire was said
to be consuming about 40-50 cups of coffee a day to complete with his writings.
Coffee and addiction
After a point, people get addicted to coffee. They simply develop a resistance towards caffeine and don’t even feel like they’ve consumed it. To keep themselves awake, they reach out for another cup, crash and burn, and get another one, while getting stuck in the vicious cycle again.
To prevent that from happening, you have to habitually cycle off caffeine. Try to give your body a breather and become sensitive again. Consider also swapping out the caffeinated version with decaf. The taste is the same and you can get almost all of the benefits.
Combining coffee
If you’re a fast oxidizer, adding sugar will only hasten your downfall. You may get an immediate boost, but that short high will be followed by a steep low.
To not crash and burn, you can add fat into the mix. A great option is to have a bulletproof coffee.
Adding MCT Oil and clarified butter to you coffee and then mixing it in a blender has very positive effects. It gives you long-lasting energy, keeps you satiated for hours and the taste is incredible.
Key takeaways
- Don’t drink coffee first thing in the morning. You don’t need it and neither do you need the sugar or cream in it.
- Don’t drink large doses of caffeine after 2pm.
- Use caffeine as a means of increasing the speed at which you cut through repetitive monotonous tasks.
- Use caffeine before working out to give you more energy.
- Cycle between caffeinated and decaf coffee.
