Brewing: What you should know about caffeine
It is normal for people to crave multiple cups of coffee per day. In fact according to the statistic global consumer survey, 2 to 3 cups of coffee each day is deemed the average consumption pattern amongst Americans.
So with all of this coffee consumption, how is the caffeine affecting our health?
As you should know, coffee contains caffeine which is a central nervous system stimulate of the Methylxanthine class. Depending on what you are consuming with 3 to 4 cups being the maximum suggested intake set by John Hopkins Medicine, it is typical for the average person to ingest 95mg of caffeine per 8oz drink. With Americans being on the fence in regards to a healthy lifestyle under the scope of coffee consumption, it doesn’t mean that the caffeine intake should be regarded as satisfactory.
Gared Richards and Andrew Smith investigated “ Caffeine consumption and self-assessed stress, anxiety, and depression in secondary school children” back in 2018. During their research, both authors acknowledged that previously, there have been a positive correlation between the effects of caffeine on behavior by researches before their initial study. Also, those researchers further acknowledged that sensitive groups ( such as children) would not serve positive benefits due to their adolescent developmental stage and other various factors.
The analysis conducted by Richard’s and Smith’s study focused on these essential concepts:
Dietary- The usual food and drink consumed by a person.
Demographics- The focus of a population-based on factors such as age, race, and sex.
Lifestyle Cavarities- The interests, opinions, behaviors, and behavioral orientations of an individual, group, etc..
Caffeine is known to supply its users with various short-term effects which include:
Enhanced mood
Enhanced alertness
Improved exercise performance
Increased blood pressure
Improved ability to remain awake after fatigue
Improved ability to remain mentally alert after fatigue
Faster information processing
Faster speed and reaction time
Heightened awareness and attention
With low intakes, caffeine serves no detrimental health effects. However, Richard and Smith chose to challenge this theory.
In their findings Gared Richards and Andrew Smith deemed caffeine consumption to be an influencer of stress, anxiety and depression for secondary school children. Dietary changes showed that food consumption far outweighed caffeine consumption in regards to stress.
In addition Caffeine had a different reaction from different genders, affecting males in regards to anxiety but not so much with females. Caffeine consumption from coffee is shown to increase agreeability amongst female coworkers and therefore makes it easier for females to work together in a group environment. By looking at Richards and Smith’s results it is safe to say that we all should be careful about our caffeine consumption not only for digestive health but also for our mental health.
Thanks and much love,
Kierra