Caffeine might enhance one's memory, research suggests. Long-term memory retention was found to be improved in participants who consumed a caffeine tablet equivalent of one to two cups of coffee both during and after performing a study session. Compared with participants who took a placebo with no caffeine, those who ingested caffeine were better at remembering images from previous study sessions and being able to differentiate them from other very similar images. Recognizing small differences in detail from a previous image requires the use of long-term memory storage. Researchers were not able to determine how exactly caffeine affects the brain mechanism for long-term memory, however.
More about caffeine:
- Memory might actually decrease after consuming higher levels of caffeine — roughly the equivalent of three cups of coffee.
- More than 80% of people in the US consume caffeine on a daily basis.
- One study found that women who drank four to five cups of caffeinated coffee per day reduced their risk of death by 16%, and men reduced theirs by 12%.
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More Info: nih.gov
Discussion Comments
I do have a friend who has to drink a mug of coffee every morning so that she can be attentive in class. I personally don't think it's healthy.
There was this one kid I went to school with who was addicted to coffee. Every day, when he woke up, he drank 3-4 cups. Then he'd take a thermos with about 8 cups worth of coffee to school with him which he would finish before lunch. when it was his lunch time, he'd go back home and fill it back up and go back to school. I remember when he finally decided to get help and how proud he and the teacher who was helping him were when he got down to one thermos a day. It was a little scary to see him going through that though, he would always be shaking and would just stare into space sometimes. As far as I know, he's doing a lot better now.
When I was in college, I remember how I used to drink coffee all the time as a way to keep myself awake. This was especially the case when I tried to pull all-nighters. Just my opinion, but I think that the love that most people have for coffee might stem from their countless attempts to stay awake while doing homework, ha ha.
@Viranty - I definitely agree with you in the sense that people are way too addicted to their coffee. As an example, whenever my dad is on the way home from church, he will always stop by Starbucks and get a large cup of coffee. However, considering how much he works, it's actually pretty understandable. Overall, I feel that caffeine is a good stimulator for our bodies, it's just that we should have it in smaller doses.
In this world where people are constantly on the go, though it's understandable that people need something to keep them going, it's actually quite surprising how many people are addicted to coffee. In fact, in some cases, it's not even the coffee that they want, people just love the taste of caffeine. I've never been a huge fan of coffee, and this is one of the reasons why.
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