Dreadful coffee beans.
Source: Wikipedia
Just a quick post on… drinking coffee or soft/energy drinks and (unwanted?) consequences that its overuse may result in! I recently read an interesting post on caffeine-induced psychotic states and thought it was almost amusing :) Check this out, coffee overindulgence (how nicely put!) may bring about, among others, following symptoms:
“restlessness, silliness, elation, euphoria, confusion, disorientation, excitation, and even violent behavior with wild, manic screaming, kicking and biting, progressing to semi-stupor.”
Does not that sound familiar? ;) Funny enough, these exact behaviors are associated with a stereotype of a mad scientist! Being more serious, I wonder how much overdosing caffeine actually contributes to experiencing feelings like anxiety or confusion among students and researchers. At least here in Sweden, who’s the sixth coffee consumer in the world, the odds that it may be a case sometimes, are high. Naturally, I am exaggerating here, as in order to experience those psychotic side effects one would have to drink at least 300 mg of caffeine, which makes a) 3 cups of brewed coffee, or b) 6 Coke cans, or c) 3 Red Bulls etc. in a short time period. And how many people do that? Still, it’s good to remember that moderation is all you need and there are limits to how much you can push yourself.
Hope you’ll enjoy your next cup of coffee even more!
scienceprone 
There was a conference in my University were it was said that drinking coffee can have a protective effect on the neurons and can prevent alzheimer. They recommended drinking at least 3 coffees a day!
I didn’t actually went to the conference, I just know what people that went told me.
A quick google search gave me this: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110621093301.htm
That’s really interesting, Ze! Although I would be very careful with taking seriously any finding coming from observational studies (mentioned in your link), but the experimental study that it actually talks about looks promising. But again, the effect was observed after applying ‘caffeinated coffee’ but not caffeine alone (so no more energy drinks? ;P), plus, they still advise drinking moderate quantities of this magical beverage – so we’re all on the same side of the fence :) Thanks for a link and a comment!!
BTW, I recommend Balzac’s short essay on “hardcore” coffee drinking: http://www.blissbat.net/balzac.html :)
Brilliant text :) I see that it is Balzac who should have written this blog post! Or at least comment on symptoms of caffeine abuse ;)
For me it is still a puzzle, why sometimes coffee work on me, sometimes not. Large intake sometimes gives “superhuman” speed and acuity of thoughts and perception; and the other times – makes the mind chaotic, with ultrashort attention span and a bit paranoid. (And very large very often – trembling of hands so severe that I couldn’t button up (sic!).)
I found by myself that it is cool to not drink coffee at all for a week (e.g. when hiking and the drop of the intellectual activity can be tolerated) then to take a strong one. Then, very often, the “superhuman” state follow (at least for me :)).
I am curious (this time for a very practical reason), what makes the coffee useful (combination of blood sugar level, concentration of minerals, hydration, the current “mode” of the brain, caffeine intake history…). Any hints?
That’s a good one, but I don’t think I can be much of help here ;) I’m trying to drink no coffee at all or 1 cup of weak and milk-diluted beverage in the morning ;) But it’s clear that the frequency of drinking coffee has an effect on its efficiency. As mighty Wikipedia states (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine): “With repetitive use, physical dependence or addiction are likely to occur. Also, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced over time, a phenomenon known as a tolerance. Tolerance develops quickly to some (but not all) effects of caffeine, especially among heavy coffee and energy drink consumers.[55] Some coffee drinkers develop tolerance to its sleep-disrupting effects, but others apparently do not.” The interesting thing I’ve found was that “While safe in humans, caffeine is considerably toxic to various animals, such as dogs and birds” – so no coffee for your Buddy! ;)
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