Does anyone out there remember reading about some research done by (bored?) scientists with drugs and spiders?  It was in the papers here in Sydney some months (or was that a year or two) ago.  Can't remember where I read it but it did sound plausible to me then.... still does.

Well, it seems the scientists got a few spiders of the same species (similar age, size etc) and injected them with a range of drugs commensurate with their size.  One was given tobacco, another alcohol, another coffee, another marijuana etc. And of course, a control group was given something harmless for spiders.

A short while later, they checked the webs spun by each spider after being given their selected drug (or placebo) with their webs before.  Guess which drug caused the spiders to spin the wildest webs?

      ....  # # # #

Well, naturally enough I guessed marijuana.  Dunno what your guess is, but the (reported) results surprised me... it was coffee!!  Hmmmm... I sure took it easy with my caffeine fixes after that!  Of course, they did qualify that the results may or may not extrapolate to humans, but it seems to me that we sometimes feed our bodies (not to mention minds) with trash without knowing it.

So, to all the chess players out there holding a chess piece (or a mouse) on one hand and a capuccino or espresso on the other... good luck with your creative combinations, esp if you hope to catch a few loose flies from your opponent!  

Hope you don't think I'm feeding you some packaged trash, cos I ain't!   

I'm not sure if this was an endorsement for coffee or a caution against coffee.

 

hhhmmm interesting    much more research need to be done on this topic though

Well, perhaps if we stay off coffee for say a week and see if our combinations improve.  Of course, the risk is that we may doze off in the middle of a game... but that hasn't happened to me yet and probably never will!

Well as a shift worker I have to say that caffiene definately does not slow you down. Actually, professional body builder and something like 8 or 9 time Mr Olympia Ronnie Coleman actually takes all of his vitamins and minerals every morning with a cup of black coffee to get him started! Not only is black coffee packed with anti-oxidants, it also slightly increases your heart rate which helps you burn more energy (calories) which can aid in losing unwanted fat!

 

He drinks his coffee! Doesn't seem to slow him down in the gym! 

man, that guy needs to lay off the coffee...

coffee doesn't help at all, the body builds a tolerance to caffiene very quickly. Then when your body gets used to caffiene you wake up in the morning tired because you haven't had it in a while. You eventually get to the piont when you need it operate at the same level as you did before you started using it.

savy_swede wrote: coffee doesn't help at all, the body builds a tolerance to caffiene very quickly. Then when your body gets used to caffiene you wake up in the morning tired because you haven't had it in a while. You eventually get to the piont when you need it operate at the same level as you did before you started using it."

You shouldn't drink coffee to try and stay awake, that's when you get these side effects. If you need to sleep, then sleep or you will be tired.

A cup of black coffee (no milk nor sugar) in the morning with breakfast (you must EAT) is a good way to start the day. 

 People that have ALOT of coffee will face the same sort of issues people who over consume most things face. Everything should be taken in moderation.