3xpwriting

7.30 in the morning. The only thing I hear is my alarm clock, but I move toо slow to turn it off. It is just the beeping sound of the alarm and complete darkness. Waking up has always been the biggest struggle of the day. Your partner is there, wide awake, moving hastily to go to work. And there is you, or me, moving slowly, slowly. Everything moves too quickly. Or maybe I am moving too slowly.

Eyes are now open. First thing on my mind before I say ‘good morning’ is my coffee. Rushing to the coffee machine, everything is too bright, too loud, toо fast. While I am waiting for the coffee to get ready, a thought about why it is so important crossed my mind. Waiting for the machine to make some noise always makes me impatient. Come on, be faster, I need a sip. Not sure how it feels for you, but this is how most of my mornings go.

Now my cup is full of black hot liquid. I usually get weird looks for the way I drink my coffee – no milk, no sugar. Just pure hot bitterness. Can’t deny – this is my guilty pleasure – black coffee. The smell of freshly made coffee fills my whole kitchen and I am about to take the first sip. It hits exactly where it should. And suddenly the whole world starts slowing down.

Now is the world slowing down or am I speeding up? Why do  these first few sips of coffee always have such a big impact on my mood and how my day is going to start? Why do they even sometimes heal my headache?

As an avid coffee drinker since I was a teenager, I have had different encounters with coffee – both negative and positive. I have had the episodes where I would drink too much caffeine and I would feel as if my heart will pop out of my chest. I had the episodes in which I almost exclusively was drinking decaf coffee, and I also had  the more moderate periods of my life in which I was managing to drink up to 2-3 cups per day.

But in fact, what makes drinking coffee in the morning so important? Is it an addiction? Is the habit of doing the same thing every morning?

74% of people in Norway over the age of 18 drink coffee every day, according to a study conducted by ScienceNorway. According to the same study, coffee is enjoyed to the greatest extent for breakfast at home or at work in the morning. Furthermore, for 55% of the people who participated in the research, coffee is an important gathering point between colleagues and students.

Now, while coffee is an important thing we do privately, it has a significant role in social life. Let me ask a question: How often do you meet people based on ‘Let’s go grab a coffee?’. At least for me, this is quite often. Coffee dates are a big part of social interaction not only in my generation but also for younger and older people.

According to Orlando health, coffee stimulates the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that causes pleasant feelings. I guess this is the reason why my first morning sip always tastes so satisfying. Apparently, there are certain health benefits that accompany drinking one cup of coffee per day. Moreover, a study from 2017 found that drinking three to four cups of coffee a day was associated with a lower risk of getting heart disease compared with drinking none at all.

There are certain nutrients such as magnesium, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B12. Orlando health states that they protect against Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver disease. Right, even though there might be indeed positive aspects of drinking coffee, I highly doubt somebody pours a cup in the morning thinking about this.

Personally, for me my morning coffee is a ritual of comfort. In the morning when I have to rush to go to work, having a cup of coffee always gives me peace and allows me to spend 10 minutes, sitting on my couch and sipping it slowly while I am waking up. Darkstar Coffee explains that there are also more subtle psychological implications to our coffee connection. For example, some coffee drinkers associate their preference for a black, bitter cup with maturity while others see sweet, iced coffee as a form of self-care. Additionally, just holding a warm cup of coffee can evoke different feelings. For me having a cup of coffee while I am reading or writing is the ultimate thing to put me in the zone and actually push me to do what I have decided to.

Talking about coffee in this way means I am pretty biased about it and its potential influnce on the body. However, I am more than aware about the negative aspects coffee and more specifically caffeine can have on you. For instance, excessive consumption can lead to insomnia, jitterness, and axiety. Of course, the beverage has been a long subject to debate. From my personal experience, drinking too much coffee does make you go all jittery and restless. I guess it can even contribute to anxiety to some extend.

While the side effects of caffeine and anxiety can be alike, caffeine doesn’t cause anxiety directly. GoodRx explain that drinking coffe can instead make these symptoms worse. Research shows that in people with panic disorder, caffeine consumption raises the risk of having a panic attack and increases levels of anxiety.

Even thought I love coffee so much I am trying to be aware of the side effects it can have on my health. While I was at university I used to drink a lot of it. Anc based on Science Direct, excessive caffeine intake may induce physical dependence. Which is basically what happened to me. I did experience some withdrawal sympotoms when I thought it would be wise to completely stop drinking coffee – the headaches, the naused and the irritability.

This was in fact my wake up call to be aware of how much coffee I drink.