By Mario Meouchi | Staff Writer
Life begins after coffee. There is a lot of truth in that saying, as many people, including students, make it necessary to include coffee as a part of their morning ritual. It is one of the most popular beverages in the world to the point where a whole industry is dedicated solely to this product. Ranging from selling ground or unground coffee beans, coffee shops, and latte art to coffee-making machinery and accessories, this simple yet delightful drink is such an important part of our lives that even multibillion companies such as Nestlé and Starbucks quite literally brew their money. In Lebanese culture, it is customary to offer guests some coffee in those little white mugs with the traditional cute flower design on them. We may feel the need to grab a cup in the morning to start the day off, sometimes even serving as our breakfast, other times to help us study or keep focus on our tasks. How did coffee come to be? Is there a catch to this seemingly godsent of energy in a cup? How does it work?
Legend says that coffee can be traced back to Ethiopia, around 800AD. A farmer saw his goats full of energy after eating from a bush with red fruits. After having some of those fruits himself, he felt energized and rushed to the local monastery. The monks there condemned the drink and threw the berries into the fire, accidentally causing the first roast. The smell of those roast beans was so good that they then decided to scoop them out, crush them, and pour hot water over the grounds. That night, they were able to stay awake for longer prayers. Whether that story is true or not is up for debate.
Caffeine itself doesn’t give us energy, rather it takes the place of adenosine in the adenosine receptors located in the central nervous system, thus preventing drowsiness. Substances that change our physical or mental state are defined as drugs, and going by this definition, caffeine is a form of drug. Like any drug, we may form a tolerance to it, requiring us to drink more and more of the beverage to achieve the same results. Going cold turkey on coffee, and subsequently caffeine, may entail some serious psychological and physical symptoms such as anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, and migraines.
Some of its benefits, however, have to do with some cognitive functions. A study conducted by Alharbi et al. (2018) has shown that some types of coffee, coffee Arabica specifically, helped with attention, reaction time, and memory due to the contents present in it that would usually be lost during the roasting process. Duinen et al. (2005) have also found that coffee did indeed improve cognitive performance, increasing the efficiency of the information processing system, even while suffering from fatigue. Duinen et al. (2005) also found that the presence of caffeine left motor capacities like absolute force and endurance unchanged.
Athletes may not be able to benefit from coffee from a physical standpoint, but the increases in reaction time and processing speed help make those crucial split-second decisions that may end up being crucial for victory. Students, too, have a reason to drink coffee. They are required to fulfill demanding mental, and sometimes physical, tasks. Studying for hours on end, trying to cram in as much information as possible for that upcoming test, writing assignments, solving exercises, memorizing information, and even simply reading an excerpt assigned by the professor. Being able to use that little boost in efficiency may just end up making studying a much smoother experience, especially when coffee also helps them pull all-nighters to have just that little bit more time. Nothing beats a good night’s worth of sleep, but we must do what must be done, and occasionally sacrificing a few hours of sleep may just be one of the many sacrifices we may need to make to be satisfied with our academic performance.
Green tea is an excellent alternative to coffee. Thambi et al. (2010) found it to help with different types of cancer, heart disease, liver disease, coronary artery disease, obesity, and type II diabetes. On top of all of that, it contains caffeine, thus drinking it also gives us all the aforementioned benefits that coffee gives us. Another alternative would be chocolate, containing theobromine, a compound with milder but similar effects to caffeine. Among many others, surprisingly enough, beetroots cut caffeine-free coffee alternatives, supporting heart health, reducing inflammation, and helping muscle recovery but most importantly, they contain nitrates that dilate blood vessels, increase blood flow to the brain and thus increase cognitive functions (Miraftabi et al., 2021).
A cup of Joe is a very popular choice of drink, and for good reason: it boosts cognitive functions such as memory, information processing, attention, and reaction time, as well as mitigating the effects of fatigue, all of which are incredibly important for students. However, coffee contains caffeine, a stimulatory drug that is found to be addictive. Tolerance buildup and withdrawal are very real risks when someone consumes coffee in irresponsible amounts. It is at this moment that some of the alternatives, especially the caffeine-free ones such as beetroots may be of much use. Nothing beats sleeping, but if that’s simply not an option, you might as well treat yourself to a healthy energy booster.
References:
https://www.nescafe.com/in/understanding-coffee/coffee-history
Sajadi-Ernazarova KR, Anderson J, Dhakal A, et al. Caffeine Withdrawal. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430790/van
Duinen, H., Lorist, M.M. & Zijdewind, I. The effect of caffeine on cognitive task performance and motor fatigue. Psychopharmacology 180, 539–547 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-2191-9
Alharbi, W.D.M., Azmat, A. & Ahmed, M. Comparative effect of coffee robusta and coffee arabica (Qahwa) on memory and attention. Metab Brain Dis 33, 1203–1210 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-018-0230-6
Chacko, S.M., Thambi, P.T., Kuttan, R. et al. Beneficial effects of green tea: A literature review. Chin Med 5, 13 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8546-5-13
Miraftabi H, Avazpoor Z, Berjisian E, Sarshin A, Rezaei S, Domínguez R, Reale R, Franchini E, Samanipour MH, Koozehchian MS, et al. Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Aerobic and Anaerobic Performances of Trained Male Taekwondo Athletes: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(19):10202. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910202