Is Coffee Addictive?

Let me tell you one thing that's true about me.... I LOVE coffee! OK fine... love is not a word that you use for a beverage, but that's not the issue here. What I meant was that, I'm a 'coffeeholic'! I drink coffee every day, it was my best-friend in college, and I don't understand why some people don't like it. A sign of addiction? Maybe. Let's examine this a little further.

According to Dr. Kim Hellmans, my psychology professor at Carleton U, addiction is syndrome that manifests “a loss of control over a reward-seeking behavior”. That's really just a scientific way of saying "you don't know when to stop". Aside from that, addiction has to meet three criteria: dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal. Thus, when a person develops a physical dependence on drinking coffee, and shows withdrawal symptoms from not taking it, he or she may appear addicted to coffee. However, due to insufficient evidence of developing tolerance to coffee, the criteria for addiction are not fully satisfied. Have you noticed how you don't really increase your coffee consumption? It's pretty much the same every day, right? That means you haven't developed tolerance to coffee. You also know when you've had enough, correct? Thus, coffee is not addictive.

So what's the deal with 'coffeeholics'?

Coffee is habit-forming

Coffee is known for its drug component called caffeine. Caffeine is a mild stimulant that enhances performance and increases alertness. Say I need an extra boost to study for an exam or finish up a project, drinking coffee may be beneficial. Due to caffeine’s positive effects, drinking coffee becomes a reinforced behavior. Reinforcement makes you do things over and over again, and could eventually become a habit. Hence, drinking coffee is not an addiction, it’s simply habit-forming. Some people may not even have a craving for it. It just happens that drinking coffee is part of their daily routine. Generally, coffee drinkers wake up in the morning and grab a cup of coffee without even paying attention to their behavior. There's no harm in this, but mind you, there are some things that you do have to watch for...

Caffeine Effects

Drinking coffee allows the absorption of caffeine through the gastrointestinal tract. Its effects kick in quickly after 15 to 45 minutes from ingestion. It peaks in 2 hours, and can last up to 3 to 5 hours. Depending on the dose and characteristics of the person, caffeine’s stimulating effects may vary. Generally, caffeine improves endurance and enhances task performance by making the person feel more awake and vigilant. However, when it comes to decision-making task, caffeine may cause impairment. So try to know your personal threshold.

Toxic Effects and Health Concerns

Consuming large doses of caffeine may lead to a condition called caffeinism. This may develop when a person consumes 600 mg of caffeine per day (roughly 4 to 6 cups a day). Some of its symptoms include muscle twitching, cardiac arrhythmia, tremors, increased need to urinate, and insomnia. Caffeine can also be lethal. Yup, you could die! So you do need to be careful. If you're an adult, avoid drinking more than 10 grams of caffeine, while 100mg/kg in children. These are considered lethal dosages.

Pregnant or nursing women must be aware that caffeine is distributed throughout the body. It could cross the placenta, and small proportions of caffeine could be excreted in breast milk. Children also have a risk of exposure to caffeine, thus, their caffeine consumption should be monitored. Or, just don't let them drink coffee, OK? That would probably be the best rule. Besides, I don't think you want your kid bouncing off the walls. Finally, those who have pre-existing health problems should consult their physician before consuming caffeine.

So, what to do if you love coffee?

Don’t worry. Large amount of coffee needs to be consumed before it could pose a concern. Coffee certainly has that “emotional” appeal that coffee lovers are unable to resist. So, if coffee is your thing, go ahead... have cup and enjoy!


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Sources:

Statistics Canada, 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey. Coffee consumption peaks at ages 31 to 50. Men and women tend to consume 639 grams and 586 respectively.
Hellmans, Kim. Neuroscience professor. Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Drug Use and Abuse, 5th Edition by Maisto et al. Thomas Wadsworth (2008).

Motion

Time... space... matter... what is this whole world about? My knowledge in Physics is only elementary, but I don't want this to stop me from giving my own views on this subject. After reading The Arrow, one of Zeno of Elea's paradoxes, I thought that I should give Physics a shot.

Just to give you a brief introduction, Zeno of Elea was a Greek philosopher in the pre-Socratic era. He claims that motion is just an illusion. This concept was illustrated in his paradox called The Arrow. He explains that an arrow in a trajectory is not in motion because if we observe the position of an arrow at a given instant, the arrow would be in a 'frozen' state, hence, not moving.

Zeno suggests that motion is a function of time. Using our conventional method of measuring time, we could divide time in fractions of a second. If we continue dividing time into fractions, we would arrive at a certain measure where time is infinitely short. An arrow would have to travel in an infinite fraction of time before it could reach a certain position in space, such as from point A to point B. Also, the arrow would have to travel forever if it is moving in an infinite number of infinitely short periods of time.

He explains that motion is also a function of space. Using the same logic, we would arrive at a certain measure where distance is infinitely small. Therefore, an arrow in trajectory would have to travel an infinite fraction of space before it could go from point A to point B. It would appear that the arrow is at rest because the given points between A to B are practically located in the same space.

Now, what are my thoughts on these? Does Zeno's paradox explain that motion is nothing but an illusion?

Zeno's paradox does not entirely support the fact that there is no motion. It simply questions the idea of infinity. How does an object behave in infinity? This is a question that determines boundaries and limits. Based on Zeno's paradox, motion, time and distance do not exist because their boundaries and limits are undetermined. Therefore, his paradox only supports the idea that the concept of motion, time, and space are undetermined, not the fact that they do not exist.

Also, Zeno questioned the boundaries and limits of the given dimensions, but he did not question the boundaries and limits of our senses. Just because we are unable to observe a certain phenomena in detail, does not suggest the non-existence of it.

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Source: Baird, F. & Kauffman, W. (2008). Zeno of Elea, The Arrow. Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy Classics, 5h Edition, Volume I. Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, (pp. 26-30).

A Love Poem

I saw it in his eyes

I felt it

I couldn't stop smiling

He couldn't stop smiling

I was so happy

I still am

It exists

I couldn't wait for the morning

To tell the world it exists

Pop-psych Articles and Scientific Journals

-- A Brief Introduction and Comparison

So you have a personal problem... and you decided to read one of those pop-psych articles found in magazines or the internet. Do you know where those information come from? Now that you're here and reading this blog, I'd like to give you a background on two of the common sources of information that many people rely on.

Pop-psych Articles

One source of information is called popular psychology (or pop-psych) articles. You'll find them in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Psychology Today, or Men's Health. These articles contain information which are based on theories or concepts commonly found in psychology. Some articles may contain scientific findings to support a claim. So what's the problem? The collection of theories or concepts found in these articles lack proper evaluations or measurements, and the scientific information used to support a claim is second-hand. So if you're relying on pop-psych articles for a solution to your problems, you might have to settle for 'trial and error' to see if the solution would work.

Let's take these phenomena as an example: An author wrote an article about a popular concept called "opposites attract". He expanded and supported his arguments using common-sense, experience or other established literatures. Meanwhile, another author wrote an article about "birds of the same feather flock together", which is contrary to the former notion. And just like the first author, he provided sound arguments to support his claim. So which one is correct?

Scientific Journals

An alternative to pop-psych article is called scientific journals. Scientific journals contain information that are based on research studies and are first-hand. A research study is far more reliable than a theory or idea because it involves proper evaluations or measurements. It is focused on establishing links or causal relationships between variables. The findings were derived using research designs such as an observation or experimentation. Scientific method was also followed to examine a phenomenon and to arrive at a conclusion. So if you were to compare the phenomena "opposites attract" and "birds of same feathers flock together", a scientific study will allow you to determine which one is more prevalent based on the parameters that you apply.

Now, when do we consider the results of a scientific study as facts? Say you decide to conduct a survey, and you're only referring to the responses of the participants... you can consider those responses as facts since the phenomena actually happened to your participants. However, this fact is of very little relevance because it is only applicable to your participants; you don't know if the results are applicable to you or to the population. So how do you make the result relevant? -- By applying statistics; hence the term statistical facts. With statistics, you can determine the significance of a certain phenomenon, and through this, you'll know the probability of it happening to you.

What are the pros and cons of pop-psych articles and scientific journals?

Both the pop-psych article and scientific journal have the same goal, to provide information on a certain topic. However, it is hard to compare them because they are mainly intended for different audience. Pop-psych articles would be ideal for the general public. They are written for those who need practical, concise, and jargon-free information. It is easy to understand and does not require a background in psychology. Scientific journals on the other hand are intended for fellow scholars, hence, require a detailed description of information. They can be boring and dry to read, however, in terms of reliability, scientific journals would be a better source of information.

Note that some pop-psych articles contain information based on a scientific study, and they are re-written in a manner that the general public would understand. However, you need to consider that these information are already second-hand, thus, the accuracy of the information may be reduced. Also, some authors have their own biases, so they may be selecting only the scientific studies that will support their claim. Inasmuch, it is possible that some findings were 'manipulated' to serve the purpose of the author or to be perceived as something relevant to the topic of the article. Finally, since most information in pop-psych articles sound promising and interesting, people may accept the assertions without question, especially when the authors bare the titles MD or PhD.

In the case of scientific journal, a background in psychology may be necessary. Non-academics might have trouble analyzing the data or interpreting the results. While the rigorous presentation of data is considered relevant to academics, this might not mean as much to the general public. Scientific studies also have limitations. Just because statistics is applied, it doesn't mean that the results are applicable to you or to the population. Scientific studies have their own level of significance, and sometimes, due to the limitation of the study, the results can't be generalized to the population.

Since many people rely on pop-psych information, there are certain repercussions that may arise. Evidently, their personal lives or conditions are at stake. If a particular information is inaccurate, it could have a detrimental outcome. In the same vein, if a particular information worked on an individual, he or she may swear by it and may start professing it to others, even though the particular information is not be applicable to others.

Personal Notes:

I was a stranger to scientific journals until I took my first Psychology course. I wouldn't have thought that I'd read a bunch of them until I finished college. Now I know that some of them are hard to read, some are also quite interesting and easy to understand. If you can read pop-psych articles, then scientific journals should not pose a lot of problem to you. You can just read the "discussion" and the "conclusion" section of the journal, and skip the "statistical analysis" section (if you don't know anything about stats). So I encourage everyone to read a scientific journal... it's really worth a shot!

Special thanks to research authors who realize that knowledge is for everybody. Thanks for writing scientific journals that both the general public and the scientific community could easily understand.