Who enjoys a coffee? How many of you have coffee more than once a day, and more so after 2pm?
How many times do you have coffee in a day, be honest!
Caffeine effects dopamine, it is a stimulant. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with reward and motivation. Caffeine affects adenosine a neurotransmitter associated with sleep and suppressing arousal by blocking it. At the beginning of the day this neurotransmitter is meant to start off low and increase at the end of the day to facilitate sleep.
Coffee helps you feel rewarded, motivated and alert, and as such it is understandable why many become dependent and addicted to it.
This may get you to question the health benefits of coffee,
is it good or bad? Unfortunately, the answer is not as clear or simply as black or white, yes or no. The answer which everyone hates, is it depends, it depends on the individual. For some coffee will have a positive impact on your health, for others negative.
Due to its negative blocking effect on adenosine and therefore sleep, I recommend not consuming caffeine after midday. If you suffer from adrenal fatigue and depending on the level of stress on your adrenals eliminate caffeine to allow your adrenals to recover, reintroducing it over a prolonged period of time.
Many people use caffeine as a pre-workout stimulant due to the effects it has on dopamine, as previously mentioned. Studies have shown that caffeine positively affects strength, endurance, reaction time and reduces the onset of muscle soreness. Post workout your focus is on recovery of the parasympathetic nervous system, and coffee as a stimulant will block and inhibit this recovery.
It frustrates and boggles my mind when I see people having a coffee at the end of an evening meal, personally I value a good night of quality sleep, so should you!
Unfortunately, coffee falls into that category of being one of the most highly sprayed crops, so I highly recommend consuming organic coffee. The other benefit of organic coffee aside from not consuming toxins, are an improvement in taste and a higher level of anti-oxidants.
Key Points
- Caffeine is a stimulant
- Suppresses sleep
- Great for pre-workout and improved performance
- Don’t consume after midday
- Go organic
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