Coffee: a six letter word that can determine your productivity or personality for the day. It changes your wakefulness, mood and cognition to such an extent that it’s considered the most readily consumed psychoactive drug in the world. Coffee is an unregulated drug that can have some wonderful effects, but appropriate dosages and effects have been constantly subject to debate. 

Let’s alleviate some confusions: 

Sort of True: Drinking coffee will pay off your sleep debt

There are studies that demonstrate that an intake of regular caffeine throughout the day improves your wakefulness and reaction time. One study showed that it does this whether tea or coffee is the drink of choice. 

Not surprisingly, this study also states that caffeinating regularly tends to disturb your sleep, but this time it matters if you drink tea or coffee as tea negatively impacts sleep less. Taking this research a bit further, studies show that individuals will metabolize caffeine at different rates and this will determine if an afternoon cup will keep you up at night. Overall, those who report a coffee buzz generally drink less coffee and should be more cautious with afternoon cups.

Myth: You need a second Grande at Starbucks 

There definitely is a limit of caffeine you should consume, even if you don’t feel the effects of the coffee buzz. That limit is 400mg of caffeine, which can look like 10 cans of coke (don’t do this!!!), two energy shot drinks, 4 cups on your coffee maker, or just a bit less than your daily venti at Starbucks. Different bean roasts will actually contain different caffeine levels; Blonde has the most caffeine, whereas a dark roast has less. 

Sort of True: Drinking coffee can counteract drinking alcohol  

This can be looked at under two lenses. First of all, it has been studied extensively and coffee just does not cure a hangover. Sorry, but we’ll all have to keep looking for that cure .However, coffee has been correlated with decreasing the progression of liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is essentially what happens to your liver if you binge drink and don’t allow time for it to regenerate, although it’s a bit more complicated than that. 

True: Coffee makes your work out better 

This is actually true! Coffee has been studied and shown to improve cardiovascular endurance, but the dose of caffeine hasn’t been shown to matter all that much. A cup of tea would have the same effect on your workout as two ventis.  

False: Drinking coffee increases your risk of cardiovascular disease

It’s been studied, there’ve been rumours and at the end of the day, there’s no link. Just drink coffee in moderation!

Fun fact: Coffee has always been noted as a way to increase wakefulness and productivity, which is perhaps why, since the 17th and 18th centuries, cafes were locations where people would drink coffee and keep up with daily events, talk about fashion, gossip, or debate philosophy and natural sciences. Some even attribute the development of philosophy and modern social science to chats that happened over a cup of brew.