Caffeine can be your best friend

News in Science - Coffee makes us say 'yes' - 01/05/2006

I always tell people how my mother's way of saying hello is by yelling "Yoohoo!" in her musical way with two cups of Tim Horton's coffee in her hands. Now that I read this article, I think she is intuitively onto something. Caffeine lubricates the mind or greases the wheels in your brain so that you can focus better on whatever's information is coming your way. The better you can focus, the more likely you'll buy into whatever someone is telling you or you're reading. These scientists quizzed people on their attitudes towards touchy subjects like euthanasia and abortion before and after they gave them caffeine and information to read on the subject. People were more likely to buy into the argument after some good, buzzin' caffeine! I knew there were more reasons as to why I love having coffee with people other than just the fact that it's social and my love of a good cup is in my genes. Just think of the implications of this study. Say you've got a meeting with your bosses to talk about a raise... Treat them to coffee, chat them up a bit until the caffeine gets a chance to kick in, then dive into your argument. If this study holds true, then your chances of success go up after you feed them coffee. What if they don't drink coffee, you ask? This article says the same thing can happen with any old caffeine source. So you could use an energy drink, tea, or chocolate covered espresso beans! Who can turn down chocolate covered espresso beans? If caffeine wasn't your best friend before reading this, then maybe it should be... at least when you need a "yes" from someone.