caffeine

Get Consistent Mental Energy with Smaller, Frequent Caffeine Breaks

11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Think the best way to jump-start a project involves a large dark roast with extra shots? Think again, according to Wired magazine. As part of a roundup of mental boosters, one writer suggests that research has shown smaller, regular doses of caffeine—think tea breaks or half-cups of coffee—do more to boost alertness and reduce jitters than a large blast of the stuff: Test subjects reported that periodic small shots made them feel clearheaded and calm, both of which enhance mental performance. Even better, add a lump of sugar or have a carbohydrate-rich snack at the same time for an extra cognitive kick. It seems that glucose and caffeine together do more to enhance cognition than either does alone. More »

Let Water for Green or White Tea Cool Before Pouring

2:01AM Kevin Purdy | Portfolio magazine has a great guide to the realm of higher-end teas, with an introduction to different varieties and age-old wisdom (along with some new-age connoisseur-style advice) on how to best prepare and enjoy the lower-caffeine pick-me-up. I was surprised to see this tip amongst the offerings: Experts say that you should use boiling water for black tea. For more delicate green or white tea, Sebastian Beckwith, co-founder of the Connecticut-based specialty-tea seller In Pursuit of Tea, suggests letting the water cool for a few minutes. “You lose a lot of flavour if you put boiling water on white or green tea,” he says. We’re obviously not big fans of making simple things more complicated around here, but if it improves your morning ritual, all the better. Gourmet Tea Guide [Portfolio] More »

Defend Your Coffee Addiction

8:00AM Tamar Weinberg | You’re addicted to coffee, and people have asked you to drop the habit. Why should you? Weblog Lifehack tells die-hard coffee addicts that it’s just fine to stay addicted. After all, you got hooked on coffee because you wanted increased mental performance, and coffee certainly does that for you. Drinking coffee improves your concentration, alertness and staves off a tired mind. For me, work comes to a halt when I’m missing any of the above, especially concentration or alertness. Ten or twenty minutes after a cup of coffee, I can be back to work for a few more hours. Similarly, the article argues that coffee improves your short-term memory, helps you socialise, and also apparently reduces disease. Why haven’t you kicked the habit? Share your reasons in the comments. Photo by sh0dan. How to Defend Your Coffee Habit [LifeHack] More »

Get Optimally Wired with Caffeine

10:00AM Adam Pash | It’s no secret that people the world over use caffeine as a work stimulant, but weblog Developing Intelligence suggests that you may not be getting the most form your caffeine high. For example, the author suggests playing to your cognitive strengths when caffeinated. Caffeine may increase the speed with which you work, may decrease attentional lapses, and may even benefit recall – but is less likely to benefit more complex cognitive functions, and may even hurt others. Plan accordingly (and preferably prior to consuming caffeine!) The post even explains the optimal caffeine consumption (think small, frequent doses), so if you already count on caffeine to get through the day, check out the rest of this post to see how to do it best. On the other hand, if you’re ready to kick your caffeine habit to the curb, your fellow readers can help. Caffeine: A User’s Guide to Getting Optimally Wired [Developing Intelligence] More »

Achieve Morning Alertness Without Caffeine

4:00AM Tamar Weinberg | How do you deal with morning grogginess without relying on caffeine? Productivity blogger Scott H. Young, who wakes up everyday at 5:30, offers his tips to achieve alertness in the morning. One suggestion he proposes is to turn on the lights in your room so that your body is tricked into thinking it’s time to get up. It’s also helpful to start your day with work that actively engages you. It’s better to write, for example, than to read. Also, don’t skip breakfast. It will throw your metabolism out of balance, so keep an eating schedule consistent. More »

Quit Coffee to Reduce Procrastination

9:00AM Gina Trapani | When he caught a bad cold last month, blogger Henrik decided to multi-task and used the time he spent laid up to kick his three-cups-a-day coffee habit. (As if recovery wasn’t enough!) He hasn’t had a cup of coffee in 30 days now, and he says the change has made a big difference in his productivity. He says that now: I’m less prone to procrastination. I didn’t really notice it while I was drinking coffee but my mind seemed to wander off in all kinds of ways a lot of the time. Now it’s easier to single-task and focus on one thing and I don’t feel the same need to check email or other distracting stuff. Not sure if there’s any actual scientific evidence that links caffeine and procrastination, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I quit caffeinated coffee about two years ago and I’ve also seen an increase in focus and decrease in tangents because I’m less jacked up on caffeine. (However, decaf coffee, tea, and most diet sodas, which I do drink once in awhile, do have caffeine, so I’m not off the stuff completely. Just no longer dependent on it to get me started in the morning.) For more on how you too can kick the habit (sans Henrik’s flu), see Ask Lifehacker: Quitting Caffeine? (which got posted in Lifehacker’s Pre Comments Era), reader responses to the post, and more on the subject here and here. How I Quit Drinking Coffee and the Benefits I’ve Experienced [The Positivity Blog] More »