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Richard Wilson

Brains & Caffeine: Are we ACTUALLY wired that differently? - 14 views

started by Richard Wilson on 23 Oct 13
  • Richard Wilson
    #1 Richard Wilson on 23 Oct 13
     
    Ok, Almost everyone has been caught off-guard by coffee. Maybe it was an espresso at Starbucks or a Vietnamese ice-coffee at your favorite Asian restaurant. Maybe you just got giddy from chocolate birthday cake.

    In terms of brain wiring and re-wiring, I thought I might post a picture of how caffeine affects spiders and their creative work of building webs. It has this affect because spiders metabolize caffeine slower than we do.

    So maybe it affects us in the same way if we take it in faster than we metabolize it.

    Thinking critically, do you feel that caffeine might have re-wired your brain similarly in the past?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caffeinated_spiderwebs_modified.jpg
  • Jennifer Henson
    #2 Jennifer Henson on 23 Oct 13
     
    Oh man! That's scary! I am one of the few people I know who has never had a full cup of coffee. I just can't stand the taste of it, so have never progressed beyond a single sip. I've often regretted this because I see how it can lift people up in the morning and get them juiced and ready to go while I am still slogging through. I do imbibe caffeine, though. I will often start my day with a soda or a cup of hot tea. Coffee has so many chemicals in it I've never thought it could be good for us, but I've argued that point with nutritionists and the vast majority of people I've known seem to think all the good studies for it make up for the few bad (and abhor my soda addiction). But my theory is that the people conducting and reading the studies are all addicted to caffeine, so their findings cannot be trusted. This one is interesting, but who knows how relevant given the very different spider to human correlation.
  • Richard Wilson
    #3 Richard Wilson on 24 Oct 13
     
    Yup. It probably doesn't apply, but nonetheless, it caught my attention. It was interesting because it was so measurable.
  • Katy Lu
    #4 Katy Lu on 25 Oct 13
     
    I drink a cup of coffee in the morning and 2 pots of jasmine tea (or Oolong tea) in the afternoon.
    No soda. :D
    Jen, try "Blue Mountain" or "Kona" next time.
    You should be able to accept the taste of "Bold flavor with a smooth finish".
  • Jennifer Henson
    #5 Jennifer Henson on 26 Oct 13
     
    Ok, Katy! I'll give those a try! Thank you!
  • Jackie Byford
    #6 Jackie Byford on 27 Oct 13
     
    I never really drank much caffeine growing up. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in college in my 30's. At first it was to keep warm on the chilly morning in Northwest Arkansas. I am not sure if it also picked my up or it just became a habit, but I drink at least 1 cup of coffee a day, sometimes 2 but only when my daughter is taking too long to get ready for school. I enjoy the taste, but of course I put creamer and sugar in my coffee for that added affect. It is interested how the webs are so different. To this day I drink very little soda either, it drives my kids nuts that I do not let them have soda whenever they want.

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