Tag: caffeine

Did you know that Honey Bees are Coffee Addicts?

Coffee beans come from Coffee trees and those coffee trees produce cherries that contain seeds. Those seeds are the ones that you grind up for your everyday coffee.

Do you know why coffee trees have caffeine? Here let me explain: It’s actually the tree’s defense mechanism. Coffee leaves are poisonous to garden slugs and they act as a natural pesticide.

To humans, we actually love that poison.. it brings us COFFEE! To us it isn’t the least bit poisonous, unless you drink about 100 cups in 1 go. This brings me to the honeybees, as they absolutely love caffeine as much as we do!

Honeybees stick their tongues into the flower and collects the nectar which contains a slight dose of caffeine in it. They also get caffeinated for the same reasons as we do:

1. Memorization

Honeybees will travel hundreds of miles just to get their nectar, and the caffeine in the nectar will often manipulate the honeybees long term memory (in a good way). A recent study has shown that the caffeine in nectar makes certain flowers more memorable – thus meaning the honeybee is more likely to return to the same kind of flower (the caffeinated ones) as they enjoy stimulant.

2. Productivity

Seeing as the caffeinated Bees remember which flowers give them the most kick, it then makes the more productive as they wont waste their time pollinating the wrong flowers.

3. Habit

Honeybees are definitely intelligent as they remember the effects of caffeine, to which they prefer coffee trees when collecting their nectar. Who else can sympathize with a HoneyBee? … Coffee>Everything else 😀

That being said, next time you’re feeling “buzzed” from drinking coffee, just know that Honeybees are right there with you 😉

5 Lies about Coffee!

1. Coffee Insomnia

No, No, No.. Coffee actually goes away faster than you think. It takes about 4-6 hours for the caffeine to leave your system, so you can’t use the excuse about not being able to sleep because of coffee anymore! (That is – unless you drink a cup minutes before you sleep.. then we have a problem)

2. Coffee Stresses you out

WRONG! Coffee actually makes you happier 🙂 A recent study shows that people who drink about 4 cups of coffee a day are less likely to be depressed. That being said.. if you’re having a bad day, drink a cup of coffee – it’ll cheer you up! The study also showed that people who drink 2-4 cups of coffee a day, are less likely to be suicidal

3. Coffee causes diseases

Coffee actually has quite a few benefits:

  • It helps with long term memory
  • Lowers your risk of Parkinson’s
  • Lowers your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
  • Reduces risk of developing many types of cancer

4. Coffee sobers you up

Now I know many of you will be sad to hear, but coffee doesn’t actually sober you up and won’t fix your hangover. But on the bright side, coffee does help with recovering your damaged liver from alcohol: 4 cups a day drops the risk of liver cirrhosis by 65%.. meaning the more the better!

5. Being addicted to Coffee

Nope – impossible! Caffeine withdrawal will make you sleepy or give you a headache, but we already knew that. Though, coffee doesn’t threaten your physical or social health as addictive drugs do. On the reverse side, coffee is addicted to you!! So keep drinking coffee and all will be good a prosper 🙂 Happy coffee drinking!

How Drinking Coffee Before Bed Affects You…

Did you know your circadian clock tells you when to wake, eat, sleep and a whole bunch of other things!

Caffeine messes up your circadian clock – but how much caffeine does it take to mess it up?

Well…..

  • A double espresso shifts your clock by 40 minutes
  • Bright light: shifts your clock by 85 minutes
  • A double espresso plus a bright light shifts your clock by 105 minutes!!!

So, in conclusion just drink coffee in the dark! 🙂

Your body works on a rhythm and is directed by your Circadian clock. This is a 24-hour hormone cycle that happens in your body. It tells you when it’s time to eat, sleep, wake up etc.

At a certain time in the rhythm, something called cortisol is being formed – which is a hormone that makes you feel alert, awake and ready to start the day. Producing cortisol happens between 8 and 9AM meaning that your body is naturally caffeinating (I know cool, right?) during these hours of the day.

If you drink coffee at the same time as your Cortisol’s are rising, then the effects of caffeine won’t be working as well, since you’re already experiencing a natural jolt ⚡.

SO, if you find yourself upping your daily caffeine intake then TRY drinking your coffee AFTER your cortisol levels have dropped (don’t worry, that’s a couple times a day). The first drop happens 9:30 and 11:30AM.