Like most people, I drink coffee in the morning. No matter how hesitant I am to start the day, I know that the coffee I just made will make me feel more alive and ready to treat others well.
I thought coffee brightens me up because of the caffeine, but NBC News writes that Portuguese researchers have revealed that coffee has more distinct benefits than we thought.
The study, published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, indicated that water-and-caffeine solution drinkers had different experiences than coffee drinkers.
Out of 83 trial participants, 47 received coffee and 36 received caffeine dissolved in hot water. Each participant had an MRI before drinking and 30 minutes after drinking.
Coffee drinkers reported greater brain activity in various areas of the brain, including those that control concentration, attention, and short-term memory, unlike water drinkers.
The pleasure that is given to an individual that likes coffee in the morning, that actually is part of almost a ritual that really is important for that individual to feel that ‘I'm ready for the day
That would explain why pouring the grounds and starting the coffee machine makes me smile before drinking. It may also explain why I feel slower when I drink a canned energy drink from the fridge.