There’s this idea, some may say fact, that coffee helps awaken the brain especially when it slips into that afternoon idle. There’s also this romanticised relationship between coffee and academics, almost as if you can’t be a real academic without caffeine. “What is a lab without a coffee machine?” I remember asking my PhD advisor in my second week; he was befuddled. A month later we had a brand new coffee machine that he uses more than anybody else, because he loves coffee and couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t bought one earlier. He prefers the strong black ‘cowboy’ kind of coffee from his favourite small roasters in Wisconsin or Texas or our own Rex Coffee in town. He buys them, we all drink them, and they’re delicious. I know people who regularly go through 5 or 6 cups of strong black coffee a day, I’ve had some of those days myself. But there are also days when I drink tea, or just lots and lots of water instead. I do not doubt the scientific literature that says caffeine stimulates brain cells, but I’m not sure how much psychology influences it. Let me explain.
I drink coffee. Sometimes it does its job, so I’m able to do mine. But what if it’s working only because I want it to? What if I psyche myself out about really needing to get work done and allow my brain to think it’s the coffee that’s pushing me? I will the coffee to work, and it does. Sometimes I drink tea, caffeinated, decaffeinated, herbal, it doesn’t matter. And I do my job just as well. Things work with water too. So I’m starting to think that maybe it’s not so much the caffeine (a tiny part, perhaps), but just something to drink, anything. Some days I don’t want to embrace the bitter, maybe I want a light lemony ginger, or just the freshness of cool water. I’m starting to think that just the act of drinking may be enough, at least for me, to stay awake and work. Because if you drink enough of any liquid of your choice, you will have to pee often, and that will require getting up from your chair, walking down the hallway, looking at yourself in the mirror while you wash your hands (because everyone does this), and walking back to the chair. Maybe all this movement and diversion is enough to energize the body and the mind. If you’re a moderate coffee drinker like me, try another beverage for a few days, and see if it does as well. If you need to, kick up the pace of the walk to the restroom and wash your hands in cold water, even splash some on your face (I like to do this), talk to the mirror you and say, “you got this!” (warning: you may get some stares). If you’re a high-level caffeine user, forget everything I said and refill your mug with dark black. I’ll be right back, I need to pee. p.s. There are days where no matter what I drink, I can’t get any work done. I don't have a good explanation for this except, it happens.
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