Coffee ‘no boost in the morning’

That morning latte or espresso may not be the pick-me-up people think it is, a study has revealed. University of Bristol researchers say the caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms which build up overnight, but does not make people more alert than normal.

The work, presented to the British Nutrition Foundation conference, showed only people who have avoided coffee for a while will get a buzz from caffeine.

But the British Coffee Association said regular drinkers did feel more alert.

 

That alertness you feel is you getting back to normal Professor Peter Rogers, Bristol University

You can read the whole article here.

I think if I need a cup of coffee to get “back to normal” that it’s a pretty darn important part of my morning routine. And if it’s just picking me up from below normal to normal, it’s still a pick-me-up. I doubt their study looked at how caffeine affects a depressive brain chemistry. I mean, if I can get to normal with something over the counter and as cheap as coffee beans, let me have it!

I don’t drink coffee to get a buzz. That caffeine buzz is uncomfortable with the jittery hands and the racing heartbeat and all. I’d like to save those types of symptoms for dating, thankyouverymuch.

Also, if the cuppa is just to overcome the beginnings of withdrawl, doesn’t that qualify as an addiction? Albeit a less destructive one than crack cocaine or alcohol.

One more thing. I get my (almost) daily latte from my neighborhood coffee shop. Not a corporate coffee pusher, but a genuine community where I know the baristas by name, and they know me. I know the people sitting at the tables and the counter, we hang out. They know about my kids, my work, my dating adventures…well, at least some of them know some of it. The point is, my morning coffee is a lot more than a caffeine pick-me-up. It’s a touch-stone of community. For a divorced mom of two teenage boys, it’s pretty important to have that “me” space, where they know me as Not-Faint-Hearted me, and not as one of my roles.

What about you? What gets you “back to normal” in the morning?

Anyway, I gotta go. Coffee’s done.