We all want to change how we feel at some point. Perhaps you’ve pulled an all-nighter and reached for the energy drink or caffeine tablet at 2am? Or instead you might have opted for a sugary snack to keep you going on a long day. Some people enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a busy week to help them unwind.
But something nearly all of us can relate to is the mid-afternoon coffee. Or if you’re doppel Co-Founder Jack, the morning, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, aaand late-afternoon coffee.
There are a phenomenal number of news articles online discussing the pros and cons of coffee. CNN recently posted a summary of the arguments for and against across the centuries.
Here at doppel, the effect of coffee on energy, sleep and mood are of specific interest. So we decided to look a little closer at the upsides and downsides.
Energy
Coffee makes you feel like you have more energy because it contains caffeine, a chemical which makes us feel more awake. This is great when you need a boost… but many of us are all too familiar with that post-coffee crash. Whilst many of us might wish that it could, coffee doesn’t actually give you more energy, it just makes us less able to feel that we’re tired. It goes without saying that getting a good amount of sleep is more of a long term fix.
Sleep
But definitely don’t drink coffee before you try and catch up on those zeds! This may seem like fairly obvious advice but that doesn’t stop many of us opting for the post-dinner coffee when out for a meal. A cup of coffee drunk late in the evening delays a rise in the level of melatonin, the body’s chief sleep hormone. And if you can’t sleep, then you’re back to square one when it comes to trying to get up for work the next day.
Mood
Coffee does help you to feel happier. Caffeine stimulates the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine. But too much coffee can have the opposite effect, causing anxiety and restlessness.
Being able to change state on demand is something that fascinates us. Although we’re not such a huge fan of side effects. Sure it might be better if we all got eight hours sleep a night - but when you’re tired in the afternoon you can’t turn back the clock.
For us, the fact that doppel uses technology to create an effect which is on demand is one of the most important points. You can choose between coffee and doppel, or you can choose to have both.
We like to go out for coffee with friends, but use doppel in the office when we’re on a deadline - which in start-up life, is all the time...