To exercise or not! Well, you can always choose to do so. You have all the freedom in the world to exercise or not. The same way, it must be reminded that one has the freedom to sip some coffee too! The choice, as it should be, always remains in our hands and may not be snatched away from us. Yet, it must be reminded and shouldn’t be ignored that one should choose between the two wisely. Isn’t it?
In the sense that whatever one does- whether exercising or sipping some coffee- particularly from the standpoint of aiding the brain, since both are known to impact one of the most important organs of the body, must be done in moderation. Therefore, this leads to a very important question that perhaps, as one might put it, can no longer be avoided:
Is coffee good for the brain? Or is it bad for the brain? So while we know that exercising has a positive impact on our brain, aiding in the gray cells, could it be that a famous liquid-ish drink is also the answer to the issue.
So is coffee good for the brain?
In fact, this is among the big questions that need some myth-busting. And do you know why? Well, for the simple reason that to this day, there hasn’t been any clarity whether should one depend only on exercise to aid to the brain or should one also rest on coffee?
Have you ever thought about it?
Well, it seems that now there’s some kind of an answer. But up first, a telling revelation by the famous World Health Organization or the WHO, as we know it.
The WHO is known to have said, “caffeine is one of the “most widely used psychoactive substances” in the world.”
So on that note, one wonders, how can coffee be good for the brain? Now, what’s rather interesting is that the very side-effects of having coffee have recently become a great subject of the director of Exercise and Health Psychology Laboratory at Western University in Ontario, Canada.
A gentleman by the name of Harry Prapavessis is currently engaging himself in the study of the side-effects of caffeine consumption. But, that said, it’s also important to note that in order to establish the findings- that ultimately lead to some answers toward- is coffee good for the brain- Mr. Prapavessis isn’t alone.
He involved a former graduate student Matthew Fagan and graduate student Anisa Morava and has compared the effects of both coffee consumption and exercise (in relation to the brain).
And now, this is what is important to know:
The findings, in lines with the above were published recently on the famous online journal Medical News Today and here’s what is important-
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, they write, no previous studies “have examined acute exercise in comparison to caffeine administration on either cognition or caffeine withdrawal symptoms.”
Despite the positives we know about caffeine, the negatives can often outweigh the benefits.
Anxiety-like symptoms, body tremors, and, of course, withdrawal, all have an association with the regular consumption of caffeine.
In fact, all of that said, it may not be incorrect to conjecture that depending on the uniqueness of every physical system, the effects of having coffee vary differently and therefore, impact the body differently, to put it simply.
The said medical journal also shared that-
“Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, and the following symptoms may indicate too much caffeine:
- insomnia
- a headache
- raised heart rate
- anxiety
- upset stomach
- muscle tremors
So now, is coffee good for the brain?
It has been found that a duration of around 20 minutes of exercise, whether on the treadmill is known to aid the brain in the same capacity as having a cup of coffee. Both impact and aid the working memory. And most importantly, here is the key takeaway: working out on a treadmill or for that matter keeping the body engaged through a regular exercise regimen for around 20 minutes can aid and improve the focus just as sipping a cup of coffee can.
Yet, that told, it’s wise to do both in moderation and perhaps understand that while one can choose to not indulge in regular coffee-sipping- which won’t cause the body any harm- skipping regular exercising, a habit most struggle with, may not really help the body.