The most ingested drug in the world for a good reason.

Brain Booster

Caffeine can pump up your gray matter, too and you don’t need as much. Scientists at the Innsbruck Medical University (Austria) discovered that just 100 mg of caffeine (1 cup of coffee) increases activity in the part of the frontal lobe that influences short-term memory and the anterior cingulum, the part of the brain that controls attention. Why does caffeine give you that slap-in-the-face brain boost? Basically, it’s a case of mistaken identity, Antonio says. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors in the brain, which when adenosine is involved makes you tired but with caffeine speeds up brain-cell activity. To maintain that caffeine high, don’t bother slamming an extra double espresso. Instead, down small amounts of caffeine about 2 ounces of coffee, for example every hour, suggests James Wyatt, PhD, a sleep researcher at Rush University Medical Center [Chicago].

“Caffeine blocks the steady buildup of chemical messengers that induce sleep, but you need to maintain levels in the brain,” he notes. “A few morning cups will still cause caffeine levels to fall as the day progresses.”

Posted: Thu February 9th, 2012 at 5:49pm
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