We all know that coffee/caffeine is a stimulant and its by far the best bodybuilding supplement there is. Coffee is good for you unless you consume too much like I am/was.
Hey Scooby, thanks for sharing your findings. If I may offer a suggestion, teaspoons of instant coffee is a bit of an unusual unit of measurement for caffeine. I'm sure that other users would also be curious as to how many milligrams of caffeine that adds up to for your chosen brand of instant. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Agreed, calculating the actual milligrams of caffeine is problematic because it depends on the brand but brewed coffee or espresso are also very dependent on the amount of beans and how finely it is ground. In an experiment like this what is really important is that the same amount of caffeine is used in each test. In this respect, instant is excellent because its very easy to get precisely the same amount of powder in each cup.
Instant coffee usually contains less caffeine than freshly brewed coffee. A typical 8-oz cup of regular instant coffee contains about 62 mg of caffeine.
I want to touch briefly on people who say that coffee does not affect their sleep. It's the same portion of the population that claims "alcohol does not affect their sleep". Some people say alcohol forces them to go to sleep.
But the quality of sleep is far more important, and measurements of deep sleep, REM sleep and sleep cycle frequency show us that stimulants have a negative effect on sleep. Just because people "think" they slept well, does not mean that their body is regenerated and their brain did all the necessary cleanup at night.
As you wrote, too much of everything is a bad thing. I don't believe in superfoods. Too much of garlic is bad, too much of avocado is bad... Too much exercise is a bad thing too.
It's the balance and cautious management where the secret lies.
Hi Viflo! Excellent point about the quality of sleep, I should have mentioned that. Yes, and alcohol has a similar problem. Just because someone drinks so much that they pass out does not mean that their quality of sleep will be good. I would say that I experienced the "quality of sleep" issue first hand back when the sleep medication Ambien came out. I was having a temporary bout of sleep issue so asked my doctor for a prescription. What I found was that it did allow me to "sleep" but it felt more like my body was paralyzed but my mind kept going at 100mph. When I woke, I was exhausted. Worse yet, after about 5 days I found that its ability to make me sleep lessened which left me worse off than before the medication. At that point I flushed the rest of the bottle down the toilet and have never used a sleep aide again.
Thanks for addressing this subject. I have slight and treatable high blood pressure, and old age insomnia, so have experienced these matters. Like Scooby says, and I tell my clients continually, moderation in everything. I keep my coffee to two cups in the morning at breakfast, and only occasionally during the day or evening. There is another very important matter to be considered with coffee - quality. Cheap, poor quality coffee beans - like Robusta - typically contain nearly double the caffeine. Arabica beans - half as much and much better flavor. With a better quality of coffee, it will likely be more satisfying, thus you will attain satiety sooner and desire less coffee in any given setting, contributing to moderation.
Interesting. Since we are new to real coffee and being able to choose beans, I will make sure to pay attention to the kind of bean. I just looked at what is in our coffee maker now and its from Petes but the specific kind of bean is not stated - clearly a bad sign.
Glad to see the Scoobster is back to writing, I love your writing. I have a blood pressure cuff at home and measure every Saturday, because I get white coat blood pressure and I’m always 150 over 120 at the doctor and they want to prescribe me Lozol but when I’m at home my Bp is 120 over 70, so there’s really no need, I just tend to be tense at the doctors office!
Hey Scooby, thanks for sharing your findings. If I may offer a suggestion, teaspoons of instant coffee is a bit of an unusual unit of measurement for caffeine. I'm sure that other users would also be curious as to how many milligrams of caffeine that adds up to for your chosen brand of instant. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Agreed, calculating the actual milligrams of caffeine is problematic because it depends on the brand but brewed coffee or espresso are also very dependent on the amount of beans and how finely it is ground. In an experiment like this what is really important is that the same amount of caffeine is used in each test. In this respect, instant is excellent because its very easy to get precisely the same amount of powder in each cup.
Instant coffee usually contains less caffeine than freshly brewed coffee. A typical 8-oz cup of regular instant coffee contains about 62 mg of caffeine.
This is a very important topic.
I want to touch briefly on people who say that coffee does not affect their sleep. It's the same portion of the population that claims "alcohol does not affect their sleep". Some people say alcohol forces them to go to sleep.
But the quality of sleep is far more important, and measurements of deep sleep, REM sleep and sleep cycle frequency show us that stimulants have a negative effect on sleep. Just because people "think" they slept well, does not mean that their body is regenerated and their brain did all the necessary cleanup at night.
As you wrote, too much of everything is a bad thing. I don't believe in superfoods. Too much of garlic is bad, too much of avocado is bad... Too much exercise is a bad thing too.
It's the balance and cautious management where the secret lies.
Hi Viflo! Excellent point about the quality of sleep, I should have mentioned that. Yes, and alcohol has a similar problem. Just because someone drinks so much that they pass out does not mean that their quality of sleep will be good. I would say that I experienced the "quality of sleep" issue first hand back when the sleep medication Ambien came out. I was having a temporary bout of sleep issue so asked my doctor for a prescription. What I found was that it did allow me to "sleep" but it felt more like my body was paralyzed but my mind kept going at 100mph. When I woke, I was exhausted. Worse yet, after about 5 days I found that its ability to make me sleep lessened which left me worse off than before the medication. At that point I flushed the rest of the bottle down the toilet and have never used a sleep aide again.
Might you know why I get headaches from caffeine even when I drink the 1 cup same time everyday with good sleep and hydration?
Such a bummer, but I’ve had to give up coffee. I miss it so much 😫☕️
Le coffee es reADY?
LOL!
Thanks for addressing this subject. I have slight and treatable high blood pressure, and old age insomnia, so have experienced these matters. Like Scooby says, and I tell my clients continually, moderation in everything. I keep my coffee to two cups in the morning at breakfast, and only occasionally during the day or evening. There is another very important matter to be considered with coffee - quality. Cheap, poor quality coffee beans - like Robusta - typically contain nearly double the caffeine. Arabica beans - half as much and much better flavor. With a better quality of coffee, it will likely be more satisfying, thus you will attain satiety sooner and desire less coffee in any given setting, contributing to moderation.
Interesting. Since we are new to real coffee and being able to choose beans, I will make sure to pay attention to the kind of bean. I just looked at what is in our coffee maker now and its from Petes but the specific kind of bean is not stated - clearly a bad sign.
Of course it's instant coffee! 😆 But 9 teaspoons? Crikey!
Not in a single cup :)
Glad to see the Scoobster is back to writing, I love your writing. I have a blood pressure cuff at home and measure every Saturday, because I get white coat blood pressure and I’m always 150 over 120 at the doctor and they want to prescribe me Lozol but when I’m at home my Bp is 120 over 70, so there’s really no need, I just tend to be tense at the doctors office!
White-coat syndrome is real. Doctors office are anxiety and stress provoking. Same reason pets hate going to the vet, its not a happy place.
Too many people drink too much coffee. Probably me too.
... and me
Hi Scooby. I just turned 78 yesterday, and many of the lessons I learned from you over the years have kept me pretty healthy. So thanks for that!
I don't drink coffee--it irritates my urinary system. And even without the caffeine I'm not a great sleeper (lol).
But that said, I'm still doing sets of pushups and pull-ups on MWF (upper body days), and sets of squats and lunges on TThS.
And weight is pretty stable--about 10 lbs. over what I weighed when I graduated from high school.
Hope you're well! Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Robert!
Pushups and pullups at 78, you are my hero and role model!!