Millions of people across the world do the same thing every morning.
It’s a bid to wake yourself up but it’s not the morning stretch or the hop into a refreshing shower, it’s the cup of coffee.
It’s the ultimate pick-me-up… or at least that’s what we believe.
The latest research suggests that the familiar kick we get from our cuppa mightn’t be giving us a lift, so much as fighting the caffeine withdrawal symptoms from the last cup.
In fact, experts are suggesting that the morning ritual is a sign of drug dependency, the Daily Mail reports.
“People who consume caffeine regularly will become dependent on it – if you take caffeine away from them, they will function below par,” says Peter Rogers, professor of biological psychology at Bristol University.
“They just don’t function normally without the drug on board. If it’s your first tea or coffee of the day, it gets you back to normal, but beyond that you don’t get much more of a kick.”
Just the one please…
Professor Rogers is an expert in caffeine and has studied it and its effects for more than 20 years. As a result of his research, himself and some of his team have given up on their caffeine habit.
“On balance, caffeine is not particularly helpful. It triggers withdrawal and increases your blood pressure, which is not a good thing,” he says.
“I sometimes think one of the biggest effects of my research work has been on my department. Four or five colleagues have given up caffeine, and we’re all on decaf.”
Rogers explains that within a few hours of drinking coffee, the withdrawal symptoms kick in. In the extreme, they can be flu-like symptoms. The hormone adenosine increases in our body, leading us to experience fatigue.
Rogers also said that while coffee doesn’t increase alertness or concentration, it does keep you awake. So, if he was trying to write a scientific paper at night, the cuppa doesn’t actually help.
But aren’t we always hearing about the benefits of tea and coffee too? The benefits are in the antioxidants that they contain.
The solution? Rogers believes we should convert to decaf…
