Skip to content

A Day Without Coffee is No Day at All

Coffee has many health upsides and few downsides if at all

Bhavin Jankharia
4 min read
A Day Without Coffee is No Day at All
Coffee has many health upsides and few downsides if at all

Question:

Which is the most common psychoactive, addictive drug in the World?

Answer:

Caffeine

Both tea and coffee contain caffeine, but today, it’s all about coffee.

I drink a lot of coffee by Indian standards. At least 2-3 single espresso shots, one cappuccino and 1-2 pour-overs per day. I am quite particular about my coffee. I get my coffee beans and pour-over grind from BlueTokai. I use the freshly roasted beans for the espressos in my Gaggia machine and I make the pour-overs in my Hario V70.

But I don’t drink any coffee or tea after 5.30 PM, 4 hours before my bedtime.

Caffeine is a stimulant. It binds to the adenosine receptors in the brain. Increasing adenosine levels during the day cause drowsiness and by blocking adenosine, in the short term, caffeine increases focus and concentration.

Many people, including the author Michael Pollan, whose new book “This is Your Mind on Plants” devotes a third of its pages to caffeine, believe that caffeine was responsible for jump-starting the Industrial Revolution by increasing the workers’ focus and concentration.

The challenge is that in today’s world where we want to pack in as much as we can in a 24-hours day, the extra time we need is usually borrowed from our sleep time. Then, if we sleep less, we are groggy during the day, which we try to offset with caffeine, which in turn affects our sleep adversely, which then sets up a vicious Catch-22 where we drink coffee to remain alert because we are sleeping badly because we are over-caffeinated. Since the average half-life of caffeine is 2 1/2 to 5 hours, one of the things that helps with good sleep is to have the last caffeinated beverage not later than 4-6 hours prior to bedtime, come what may.

This post is free to read, but you will need to subscribe with your email ID to read the rest of the post and to  listen to the accompanying audio/podcast.

Related Posts

Members Public

What is the Point of Living Long, if We don’t Enjoy the Journey? Some Ruminations on Alcohol and Other "Sinful" Stuff While Invoking John Steinbeck

A little common sense with alcohol use goes a long way in helping us lead our lives with joy,

What is the Point of Living Long, if We don’t Enjoy the Journey? Some Ruminations on Alcohol and Other "Sinful" Stuff While Invoking John Steinbeck
Members Public

Is Tea as Good as Coffee, to Live Long, Healthy?

Tea drinking is as good as coffee in our atmasvasth quest to live long, healthy.

Is Tea as Good as Coffee, to Live Long, Healthy?
Members Public

It is Never Too Late to Stop Smoking

If you quit smoking at any age, it still helps reduce mortality and improve healthspan and lifespan

It is Never Too Late to Stop Smoking