Viter Energy Blog

Studies of caffeine show that it does not increase the risk of death, but it causes a habit or possibly a dependence that the American Psychiatric Association now lists in its diagnosis manual as a disorder that warrants more study.

Scientists study caffeine and its use by humans a lot, some say more than any other psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine is the most widely used drug, and more scientists are saying now there should be yet more studies into dependence and other aspects of caffeine consumption.

What is the chemistry of coffee? Caffeine is the most famous chemical compound in coffee, but roasted coffee beans contain more than 1,000 other compounds. Some of these chemicals are noxious but still are not unhealthy because they are present in such low amounts.

You never hear anybody wake up and say, “I need a big dose of putrescine and dimethyl disulfide in my morning cup.”

Anhydrous caffeine is derived from coffee beans, guarana berries and tea leaves and other natural plant sources. It is prepared in a lab and is reduced to white crystals. Anhydrous caffeine dissolves in water and mixes easily with other substances. But this powder is powerful in minute doses. It is best to allow experts who make approved products, guided by people who know the chemistry and how much to administer in, say, a caffeine pill or mint.

There are many articles and blogs on the World Wide Web touting caffeine as a supplement for enhancing athletic performance and increasing gain from weightlifting and other types of workouts

The World Anti-Doping Agency attempts to police athletes and make sure they aren’t taking substances, hormones and chemicals that purport to give them an unfair advantage over others who don’t take them.

We say purport because while it is widely and falsely believed that steroids, for example, increase athletes’ performance, these hormones and chemicals quickly and catastrophically destroy a person’s health.

Preparing for exams and tests in high school and college may be essential to getting an A, entering the university of your dreams or making the grade to go on for a master’s degree. Assuming you’ve studied the subject or subjects thoroughly, what should you do just one before an exam?

If it’s a big mid-term or final, an Advanced Placement or a Graduate Record Exam or other graduate school test, most people have to study the subjects thoroughly during the semester or school year or years. Attempting to learn all the material one hour before the very end is not a good strategy for a final exam or for a placement test.

Coffee before exams? Say you have a big mid-term or final exam coming up. You should power down big doses of caffeine in coffee or an energy drink, right? Not according to what we’ve read online. There are few formal, scientific studies about what to drink before exams, but the anecdotal evidence seems to point to water as the best beverage beforehand.

It’s important to get enough water so you don’t become fatigued from dehydration. That said, you can get some water from drinking coffee or energy drinks. Those old stories about coffee being a diuretic are true, but only if you drink so much that you get excess amounts of caffeine. Coffee and other caffeine-containing products are healthy for you when taken in moderate amounts, as we have written several times on this blog before.

Did you know timing when you drink coffee intake may improve your life? In the morning when the alarm goes off, the first thing many people think of is getting a coffee fix.

Coffee or tea doesn’t just taste good, the ritual is not just comforting, you actually need the caffeine to feel alert, normal and ready to face the day. And if you’ve developed a dependence on caffeine, you might even get a headache, be crabby and out of sorts or be too sleepy to perform well if you dont’t get it.

Athletes train harder, longer and get more results on caffeine. If someone told you about a common, legal substance that could help you burn fat, increase your athletic performance and decrease muscle pain, you might call him a liar. But caffeine reportedly does all that for athletes and more.

The International Olympic Committee once limited how much caffeine Olympic athletes could take. The committee categorized caffeine as a performance-enhancing substance but has since removed it from the list of regulated or banned substances.

Is it true caffeine makes you smarter? Sort of, it seems, at least indirectly. Researchers have studied this question a lot, and two groups of researchers did meta-studies (studies of studies) to determine just exactly what, if any, the conclusions of the scientific literature are.

If the title sounds like we’re hedging our bets, we are.

Whether caffeine makes you smarter is one question. Whether it makes you feel good is another. Test subjects in studies report they’re in a better mood after taking caffeine, they’re more alert and less fatigued.

Stories of coming back from a downfall after great success are inspiring for anyone—even for young people who haven’t made their mark on the world yet. History and mythology are filled with people who were at the height of success, crashed and came back again.

Sometimes, people need to lose everything material to realize that they didn’t need it, or that the health and safety of their families are worth more than all the success and gold in the world. Sometimes people come back even stronger and more successful than before they “fell.”

Unless you work outdoors or indoors in a job where you are physically active all day, it can be difficult for some people who have desk jobs to stay awake at work without caffeine.

Maybe the most important thing you can do to make sure you don’t nod off at work is to get a good night of sleep, at least 7 to 8 hours, at a regular time every night. Boredom can also cause you to nod off. Other than getting a good night’s sleep and having a fascinating job, there are things you can do to stay awake.

How do investment bankers stay awake on their 18-hour shifts?

Investment bankers work such long hours that many resort to chemical stimuli. There have been rumors of methamphetamine and cocaine use among investment bankers to burn the midnight oil. Other investment bankers take Ritalin or Adderall, which are given to children with ADHD but which are stimulants for adults. But the mainstay is probably coffee, energy drinks, and other concoctions containing caffeine.