For many of us, the work day would feel incomplete without a cup of coffee. In fact, it can be difficult to properly start the day without it. Four out of five adults consume caffeine daily. And for good reason! It isn’t just about how much we enjoy the taste of that first sip, it’s about what caffeine does to our bodies and brains. It’s like having a superpower in a mug!

Coffee is the most common source of caffeine, and caffeine is a stimulant that affects the functions of our cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and nervous systems. The coffee or tea you drink throughout the day directly impacts your mood, memory, alertness, and cognitive performance.

Coffee is one of the most beloved drinks in the world, and many of us acknowledge it as a productivity elixir. But what’s the magic behind caffeine? And how does it boost our brains to power our workdays? In this blog, we’ll dive into the science behind the brew and how a few cups of coffee throughout the day keep you going.

How Does Coffee Give Us Energy?

One of the things we love most about coffee is how it kickstarts our mornings and gives us a jolt of energy before diving into the buzz of the workday. This is primarily a result of the caffeine in coffee and tea.

Since caffeine is a stimulant, it increases the activity of your brain and nervous system. It also increases the circulation of chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline in the body. It can also block certain receptors in the brain that affect functions like sleep. We absorb caffeine through our gastrointestinal tract into our circulatory system, traveling throughout the body and to the brain. Caffeine can then dilate blood vessels in the brain, increasing blood flow and providing more oxygen to brain cells.

Technically, caffeine doesn’t create energy, rather it borrows it. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors. Adenosine is an organic compound that is responsible for regulating sleep and waking cycles. Our bodies create adenosine while we’re awake. When it attaches to its receptor, it allows the cells to slow down and makes us feel sleepy. Caffeine is structurally similar to adenosine and binds itself to adenosine receptors. Because caffeine isn’t exactly the same shape as the adenosine molecule, it doesn’t trigger drowsiness. This gives you energy without making you feel sleepy.

Eventually, the caffeine molecule detaches from the adenosine receptor and the adenosine your body created while you’ve been awake builds up and binds all at once, hitting you with that all too familiar crash. Caffeine borrows energy from later in the day, but the pay off for the burst of energy at work is well worth it to most of us.

How Does Coffee Affect the Body and Brain?

We often associate a cup of joe with energy boosts and improved mental awareness. But how does it do it? Here’s how caffeine affects the body and mind:

• Increases Dopamine: Dopamine is a brain chemical that is generally associated with feelings of happiness. Caffeine naturally boosts dopamine and makes you feel happier and more positive. That’s why you might feel your mood boost after your morning cup of coffee, especially if you’re not typically a morning person and feel grumpy as soon as you wake up.
• Increases Adrenaline: Caffeine makes the body release adrenaline and provides higher energy levels. Adrenaline also increases your heart rate, increasing blood flow to the brain.
• Creates Brain Entropy: Entropy in our brains is a measure of the complexity of our brain activity and has been linked to various cognitive abilities. Caffeine can increase entropy levels, meaning caffeine increases brain processing and activity.

How Coffee Increases Productivity in the Workplace

Many workers rely on caffeine to keep them going throughout the day. Whether they pour a cup first thing in the morning or use espresso to beat the afternoon slump, coffee can give employees the energy and brain power they need to complete a job well done.

Coffee in the workplace can improve productivity by:

• Keeping Employees Alert: As caffeine blocks adenosine in the brain, preventing the body from becoming sleepy, it also makes a person feel more awake and alert. The increase in energy caffeine provides can improve one’s productivity.

  The right amount of coffee can also increase mental awareness, allowing employees to learn and retain more details in important meetings. It can also keep them focused and motivated to work through projects in the afternoon.

• Improving Memory Performance: Recent studies have revealed that consuming caffeine enhances memory performance, making memories clearer and easier to recall. After consuming caffeine, people are more likely to remember important details. This can be especially useful as employees need to retain important company information like business updates, renewed company goals, and current company achievements.

  Memory is a key part of learning as well. For employees who are upskilling and learning new things, a strong working memory can help them achieve their goals faster.

• Encourages Breaks: Studies have shown time and time again that taking breaks is a key part of staying productive at work. Without them, we run the risk of burning ourselves out, feeling sluggish and fatigued. After all, it’s hard to produce quality work when you’re not feeling your best. Having coffee ready to drink in your office encourages employees to take time away from their desks to refuel. This facilitates socialization in the workplace, allowing people to make connections and collaborate with one another.

With a coffee bar available in your workplace, employees won’t have to go off-site to coffee shops, saving valuable time and money for your staff and your company.

• Boosting Learning: As mentioned, caffeine can increase brain activity. The increased brain activity primes the brain for learning, allowing us to collect new information more easily. Just because we’re out of school doesn’t mean there isn’t learning to do. Workers need to learn every day whether they’re gathering the details about a new project or looking for insights while analyzing data.

  Caffeine can also improve someone’s focus. Having coffee and tea available in your office helps employees stay on task and reach deadlines.
  
  

• Increasing Creativity: Caffeine has been proven to boost mood and brain activity which can also inspire higher levels of creativity. This might inspire innovative new ideas or fuel creative problem solving among your team members.

  Brainstorming over coffee can be a great way to have your associates socialize while inspiring some great ideas that can help the company.

How Much Coffee Should I Drink?

While there are plenty of benefits to drinking coffee and caffeine, there can be too much of a good thing. How much caffeine someone can drink will vary from person to person, but there are some general rules of thumb to keep in mind while enjoying coffee throughout your workday.

Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when gauging how much coffee to drink throughout the workday:

• Start Slow: It might be tempting to start the day off with a few cups of coffee, but too much caffeine can leave us feeling anxious or jittery, especially on an empty stomach. Start with one cup and some food and monitor how you feel. If you don’t feel much of an effect, go for a second cup.
• Stay Hydrated: Coffee and tea are known to have diuretic effects that cause the body to lose water. It’s important to drink water alongside your caffeinated drink of choice to maintain good hydration and keep yourself healthy.
• Limit Sugar: Many of us like to add milk, creamer, or sugar to our coffee and tea drinks, but too much might lead to increased sugar intake or energy crashes in the afternoon. You can still enjoy a bit of flavor in your coffee or tea, but be sure it’s not too much.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that you consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day. Drinking too much coffee can cause symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, increased heart rates, headaches, and nausea.

We drink coffee to help with productivity, but too much can set you back. Like any other thing in life, it’s important to strike a balance when it comes to how much caffeine you consume in a given day.

How someone reacts to caffeine will ultimately depend on an individual’s own tolerance levels and any sensitivities one might have. For example, it might be more common for someone with a heart condition to be more susceptible to negative reactions.

In moderation, coffee is a great way to get the workday kicked off right. Just make sure it’s the right amount for you.

What Can Canteen Coffee Services Do for My Workplace?

Canteen has a vast selection of coffees and teas to offer something for everyone in your workplace. We deliver a one-of-a-kind coffee and tea experience your associates can connect with. We transform spaces, invite people to gather, and deliver high-quality products to keep your team going no matter the time of day.

Get started with Canteen today or explore what Canteen can do for your office space.