Coffee & Caffeine

Source: http://coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/examplesWhen it comes to snobbery, coffee is one of my favourite domains. Over my five years of research at university, I had developed an exquisite taste for very good, freshly roasted, well ground, firmly tamped, beautifully extracted espresso coffee with expertly textured milk.

But that's not the coffee I want to talk about here.

I want to talk about instant coffee.

And chocolate, energy drinks and other sources of caffeine.

Why? Because too often students kid themselves that caffeine will help them to stay awake or concentrate, thus helping to boost performance in study and exams.

Now, it's true that caffeine is a mild stimulant, so it can help perk you up and keep you alert for a while. But it's probably not going to help you if you have an exam the next day. Caffeine has a half-life of about 6 hours, which means that if you have a coffee at 5pm, you'll still have half the caffeine in your system at 11pm. This can disrupt sleep cycles (not good during exam time) and can also enhance anxiety in some people.

If you regularly have a coffee in the morning, don't stop just because you have exams - for some people, abruptly stopping their caffeine intake can trigger headaches, fatigue or drowsiness (also not good during exam time). Instead, have your coffee as usual, but if you have an exam that day remember - caffeine is a diuretic, so allow time to pee before you enter your exam! And thus if you've been a peeing, you'll wanting to be carrying water with you to keep yourself hydrated (especially if you are taking exams in the summer - more on this later).

If you aren't fussed on coffee, but are just looking for ways to re-energise yourself, try these things before resorting to caffeine:

Sleep well - especially in the lead up to exams. I'd be aiming for 7.5-8.5 hrs.

Eat well, and regularly - often fatigue comes from low blood glucose levels, or from eating meals high in carbohydrates or saturated fats. Try snacking throughout the day on fruit and raw unsalted nuts.

Do some star jumps, or go for a brisk walk outside! Sometimes (and I do this all the time) we can forget to venture outside when we are busy. Getting some physical activity is good a good way to get more oxygenated blood flowing through your brain, which results in better thinking and learning.

In a nutshell (coffee is a nut, get it?) - if you are having caffeine to keep yourself awake, you're kidding yourself. Address the source of the fatigue, and resort to healthier ways of managing your energy.