MAKE: Blog: HOW TO - Use caffeine efficiently

HOW TO - Use caffeine efficiently

Scienceblogs has an interesting post up explaining how to maximize the benefits of caffeine for everyday use -

A landmark 2004 study showed that small hourly doses of caffeine (.3mg per kg of body weight [approx 20 mg per hour; thanks digg!]) can support extended wakefulness, potentially by counteracting the homeostatic sleep pressure, which builds slowly across the day and acts preferentially on the prefrontal cortex (an area of the brain thought responsible for executive and "higher" cognitive functions).

It's often tempting to go for that uber-sized java when you're trying to finish something important - but if you need a boost that'll last more than an hour or so you'll want to spread out those milligrams. The article includes other info like "How to play to your cognitive strengths" as well as a dizzying amount of journal citations (appears the author's following his own advice). -Link

From the pages of MAKE:

The Bottomless Portafilter - MAKE:04 p.117 -Link

Posted by Collin Cunningham | Feb 12, 2008 10:00 PM
Science | Permalink | Comments (3)

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

weird to see drugs advertised on the MAKE blog.

Posted by: j4ckknife on February 12, 2008 at 10:42 PM

I can testify from personal experience that a 20 min dosing schedule works better than a one hour schedule. Also, the resulting muscle shakes from doing this over an extended period (12 hours overnight) vibrate at around 2-3 Hz.

Posted by: Eric on February 13, 2008 at 7:11 AM

Next article: "HOW TO - Keep your coffee mug warm all day."

Posted by: fred on February 14, 2008 at 5:58 AM

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