A cup of coffee in the morning might give you that burst of alertness, but a study revealed that it might also disrupt your short-term recall of specific words. This phenomenon called "tip-of-the-tongue," when a person has a difficult time coming up with a word they already know, is thought to be activated by caffeine consumption.
One researcher believed that alertness produced by caffeine happened as the result of closing down other brain pathways. This process makes it more of a challenge to recall certain words.
While caffeine has been associated with feelings of alertness and stimulated brain activity, it has also been linked to either hindering or improving short-term memory depending on what you are trying to remember.
Study on Coffee and Short-Term Memory
32 college students were placed into two groups. One group was given 200 mg of caffeine, which is similar to drinking two strong cups of coffee, while the other group was given a placebo
Students were asked 100 general knowledge questions that required simple one-word answers
Before responding the students were shown a list of 10 words with somewhere between two and eight similar sounding words to the correct answer
If the student wasn't able to come up with the answer, the researcher would then give them a hint by sounding out the beginning of the answer. If the student gave the correct answer after given the hint, it was recorded as a "tip-of-the-tongue" response
Results of the Study
It was discovered that when the words looked similar to the answer, caffeine helped with the recall When the words weren't similar, it was found that recall was hindered for those who were in the caffeine group
Researchers are looking into the impact of caffeine on short-term word recall. This condition is known as aphasia.
One coffee spokesperson disagreed with the results of the study and stated it was too small of a study to produce conclusive results. The spokesperson also claimed that several past studies have shown the positive benefits of caffeine consumption in relation to alertness, cognitive abilities and mood.
Sun Network July 20, 2004
Since coffee is a stimulant and the average American drinks more than 10 pounds of coffee a year, it seems very possible it could hinder your short-term recall of certain words.
Clearly, coffee is not the healthiest liquid to drink--the best choice is pure water--but coffee and caffeine are far less dangerous than fruit juice or soda. It is still wise to limit, and if possible, eliminate its use, however.
This is becoming increasingly clear for women, as coffee should NEVER be consumed during pregnancy. It also appears that coffee consumption is associated with increased estrogen levels, which means an increase for breast and endometrial cancer.
Coffee has been previously associated with increased risk of stroke and rheumatoid arthritis.
One can use a product called Water Joe that is basically bottled water with caffeine added to help you wean off of the coffee. If you stop coffee cold turkey you will likely develop a severe headache from going through caffeine withdrawal.
If you simply MUST drink coffee here are a few tips to help reduce the chances of harmful effects:
Use organic coffee -- Coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so drinking organic coffee might reduce or eliminate the exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. The only drawback is that the countries where coffee is produced probably have less control and monitoring for compliance to organic practices. You will also be helping to protect the health of the people working in the coffee fields, as you will be helping to reduce their toxic exposure as well.
"Swiss Water Process" decaf -- If you are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, be sure that it is one that uses a non-chemical based method of decaffeination. The "Swiss Water Process" is a patented method and is the best choice. Most of the major brands are chemically decaffeinated, even if it says "Naturally Decaffeinated" right on the container. If you are unsure of the methods, contact the manufacturer.
Avoid sugar and/or milk -- These are actually much worse for you than the coffee itself. Don't compound the detrimental health effects by adding milk or sugar to your coffee.
Unbleached filters -- If you use a "drip" coffee maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process.
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