Caffeine image gets a fix
The first thing I did at 9pm as I sat to write this article was to crack open a caffeinated energy drink. One of those double-sized hits. Sugar-free, of course.
It’s become quite the ritual. And whenever I do so each week, much like the can of Coke or Pepsi my body screams is necessary at exactly 2pm each day, I feel a pang of guilt that I’m damaging my insides in an irreversible way.
That guilt stems from multiple sources, such as the fear-inducing tales of otherwise healthy young people having heart attacks, most probably due to excessive overconsumption.
And then there are other morereliable sources such as Arianna Huffington’s latest book, The Sleep Revolution, in which she notes that of the 10 bestselling soft drinks in the US, eight contain caffeine.
She adds: ‘‘Our workdays, especially in the afternoon, have a way of taking on a survivalist tinge – how, we ask ourselves, are we going to make it through the rest of the day, trekking with flagging energy through enemy territory mined with meetings, emails, and expanding to-do lists? So we squirrel away provisions – usually unhealthy ones – and, like addicts, we think about where that next shot of caffeine or that next sugar bomb is going to come from.’’
Her advice is to instead take a 20-minute nap, and she provides scientific data to back up her recommendation. But fresh scientific evidence calls into question the vigorous way she has written off this all-toocommon vice.
Researchers from the University of Illinois have investigated a range of ‘‘microbreak activities’’ among employees. These are the activities we engage in that take just a minute or two of our day but serve a vital purpose: they help us to momentarily recover from the stressors and demands we face. Or do they?
The scholars looked at four categories in particular: Relaxation exercises like stretching and walking; social interactions such as chatting and texting; cognitive tasks like watching news clips and surfing the web; nutritional consumption such as snacks and beverages.
All but the cognitive tasks were found to reduce the amount of negativity the participants felt at the end of a hectic day at work. In other words, relaxing, socialising and eating/drinking made it easier to deal with a challenging job.
But the study found that caffeinated beverages significantly moderated the stress of a stressful day. In contrast, food and caffeine-free drinks didn’t have a positive influence at all.
The researchers suggest that might be because a dose of caffeine prevents us from suffering the energy depleting consequences of sleep deprivation.
They even go so far as to recommend that organisations ‘‘consider stocking office pantries with readily available caffeinated beverages for their employees’ refreshment’’.
They caution, though, that any short-term advantages may be dwarfed by disadvantages, such as the cumulative impact of disrupted sleep. In which case, maybe Huffington is right: a nap at lunch may be better.