Guardiola 1

Jorge E Guardiola Jr

Professor Powers

English 1302-219

15 February 2023

Effects Of Coffee

Abstract
Coffee used by millions of people throughout the world is known to give the benefits of

given energy, endurance, and concentration. This experiment investigates the many effects a

non-consumer can experience while drinking coffee regularly. A five-day research was

conducted with three of those days being coffee days and two non-coffee days. One cup of

coffee was served each day at eight o’clock in the morning with the intention of recording

abnormalities in the body while driving, exercising, and studying to look for changes in the

cognitive function of the individual. Results show that drinking one cup of coffee before

exercising increases performance while increasing energy. Moreover, results show that coffee

increases attention and alertness while driving meanwhile increasing concentration on learning

tasks.
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Introduction

All around the world coffee is enjoyed by millions of consumers that enjoyed the hot

taste of it or simply like the warming smell of brewing it. The effects of coffee on the other hand

are well unknown to the view of a non-consumer in comparison to a consumer. Various Studies

have been published on coffee under a certain topic. For Example, Adrian B. Hodgson et al have

shown that taking coffee one hour before an extensive workout improved endurance performance

compared to a person with no coffee. Moreover, research made by M. A. J. Mets et al showed

that drinking one cup of coffee while driving improved the alertness of the driver while on the

road. Many studies show the effects of coffee or caffeine under certain topics and audiences yet

forget about a broader audience, the non-consumer, and what possible effects the non-consumers

could experience while starting to consume coffee. While coffee does bring out more alertness

and endurance to consumers will it bring the same effects such as endurance, and alertness to

non-consumers? And will it change the perception of the effects of coffee?

Process of Experiment

To find out more about the effects of coffee on a non-consumer a five-day study was

conducted to examine the effects. Monday thru Friday, the research was conducted, and on

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday black coffee, mixed with a half glass of milk, was consumed

by the volunteer while attending college classes and the gym. Starting at eight o’clock, one cup

and a half of coffee was served for the three consuming days. On Tuesday and Thursday, no
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coffee was consumed, yet the same activities such as attending class and driving were done. The

use of this method helped see into the reactions of the non-consumer and the various changes the

activities had from the coffee to non-coffee days.

Analysis

Driving

Among many factors that contributed to this experiment driving was one of the many that

was affected in the process. Throughout the week driving took place from the participants house

all the way to the college campus. To determine the well effects of coffee the participant went to

sleep around 10:30 each day to wake up around 7:30 each day. This sleep pattern was used to not

have the backtracking effects of sleep deprivation. An average of thirty minutes is done from the

house to the campus on Tuesday and Thursday. Slight drowsiness, slight daydreaming, and slow

reactions appeared on Tuesday and Thursday while driving at eight o’clock in the morning with

no coffee consumed. While on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday better arrival time was shown

by the participant ranging from fifteen to twenty minutes to arrive on campus. Better alertness,

less fatigue, and no drowsiness were shown with coffee. Research by M. A. J. Mets states that

“one regular cup of coffee also significantly improves driving performance and reduces driver

sleepiness” (341). Consuming coffee increases the attention and overall performance of the

driver through the increase of energy.

Physical performance

Physical performance was another factor that increased with the use of coffee throughout

the day. On Tuesday and Thursday, chest, femur, and gluteal muscles were worked on. Chest day

Tuesday averaged about 45 minutes having done inclined, bench, and cables. On Tuesday the
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participant felt without energy in the body having done only 25 minutes of workout, a five-

minute break was taken and the workout was finished with light 10 minutes of cables due to

exhaustion. Thursday was focused on the femur and gluteal muscles. Thursday was the hardest

day for the participant showing signs of very little energy and a slow pace of set completion. On

the other hand, on Monday the participant had a great leg workout with much energy to

accomplish the sets and focused all the energy on squats. On Wednesday, the back was taken

into exercise with the dorsal being focused. Finishing off the workout the participant was left

with the energy to go and finish with pull-ups. On Friday, shoulders were heavily exercised with

lateral raises and frontal raises having finished around 30 minutes and still going for a 10-minute

jog. As stated by Adrian B. Hodgson “coffee (5 mg/kg/BW) consumed 1 h prior to exercise can

improve endurance exercise performance” (1). Furthermore, adding to this research is researcher

Simmon Higgins “Endurance athletes commonly ingest caffeine as a means to enhance training

intensity and competitive performance” (221). These results and statements demonstrate how

coffee is beneficial and demanded by athletes to gain better results.

Cognitive performance

Another yet important factor affected by coffee is the processing of the mind. Monday,

Wednesday, and Friday showed improvements in being able to concentrate on discussions going

on in the class, concentrating on different routes and shortcuts while driving, and also showed

improvements while studying history. Meanwhile, on Tuesday and Thursday, staying

concentrated on class and studying history proved to be more difficult with daydreaming while

having to fight doziness. According to research by Yafei Yuan “Acting as a brain stimulant,

coffee resulted in heightening alertness, keeping arousal, improving executive speed,

maintaining vigilance, and promoting memory” (1). The statement contributes to the experiment
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and how coffee affects the cognitive function of maintaining concentration and being alert in

class. Overall, coffee brings assistance to the learning environment to build a good foundation

for understanding.

Discussion
Overall, the research conducted on the non-consumer participant showed that the effects

can affect the driving, physical, and cognitive function of the consumer. Driving performance

changed when arriving more early to campus on coffee days than when not drinking coffee.

More energy, alertness, and speed were gained when working. The cognitive function of the

participant increased with a higher concentration on class, and an increase in engaging in class

discussions. The results showed that coffee brings out far better results when having one cup of

coffee in everyday activities with an increase in better alertness, and concentration when driving,

exercising, or studying. All in all, non-consumers will get the same benefits and effects as

someone who drinks coffee regularly and be able to optimize the outcome of activities.
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Works Cited

Higgins, Simmon, et al “The Effects of Preexercise Caffeinated Coffee Ingestion on Endurance

Performance: An Evidence-Based Review.” EBSCOhost, vol. 26, no.3, 2016, pp. 221-

239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0147

Yuan, Yafei, et al “Caffeine Effect on Cognitive Function during a Stroop Task: fNIRS Study.”

EBSCOhost, vol. 2020, 2020, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8833134

Hodgson, B. Adrian, et al “The Metabolic and Performance Effects of Caffeine Compared to

Coffee during Endurance Exercise.” EBSCOhost, vol. 8, no.4, 2013, pp. 1-10.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059561

Mets, M. A. J., et al “Effects of coffee on driving performance during prolonged simulated

highway driving” EBSCOhost, 2012, pp. 337-342. DOI 10.1007/s00213-012-2647-7