Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about that morning cup of coffee. Here's
Speaker 1: how to make it be a positive morning ritual, one
Speaker 1: that is pleasurable in addition to possibly having some health benefits.
Speaker 1: To this week, we have been talking about ways to
Speaker 1: take care of our brains. If we want to take
Speaker 1: our days from great to awesome, being on top of
Speaker 1: our mental games can help a lot. Our brains are
Speaker 1: the most important productivity tools we have now and in
Speaker 1: the future too, so we want to keep these tools
Speaker 1: as sharp as possible. That brings us to today's topic, coffee.
Speaker 1: In health literature, it always seems inevitable that the things
Speaker 1: we love will turn out to be bad for us. Candy, soda,
Speaker 1: hot dogs. So it seems like coffee, which many of
Speaker 1: us drink every single morning and indeed, which is often
Speaker 1: the thing that lures us out of bed, might fall
Speaker 1: into that category. And yet that doesn't seem to be true.
Speaker 1: Various research has found that drinking coffee on a regular
Speaker 1: basis might improve alertness, as one might imagine, and also
Speaker 1: it seems to protect the brain against cognitive impairments. It's
Speaker 1: unclear exactly why this is, but substances in the coffee
Speaker 1: beans and the chemical reactions that are part of roasting
Speaker 1: the beans might have something to do with it. That
Speaker 1: means it's not the caffeine itself, which is why taking
Speaker 1: caffeine pills or drinking energy drinks probably wouldn't have the
Speaker 1: same effect. Everything needs to happen in my duration. Downing
Speaker 1: gallons of coffee a day will make you tense and irritable.
Speaker 1: That will have negative effects on your health. But it
Speaker 1: does seem to suggest that probably a cup or two
Speaker 1: a day isn't bad. It might even be good. So
Speaker 1: if that's the case, it is fine to make a
Speaker 1: cup of coffee part of your morning ritual. And if
Speaker 1: you are going to do that, well, why not make
Speaker 1: it the best ritual possible. I will admit that in
Speaker 1: the past, my husband and I have made a full
Speaker 1: pot of coffee one day and not finished it and
Speaker 1: just reheated the remains the next day. But I recently
Speaker 1: decided that if I am only going to drink one
Speaker 1: to two cups of coffee a day, I really want
Speaker 1: to enjoy those cups. So now it is always a
Speaker 1: fresh pot. We make it at home since going to
Speaker 1: a coffee shop would take way more time than we
Speaker 1: generally have in our busy mornings. Plus both of us
Speaker 1: usually work at home, so it's really more efficient if
Speaker 1: you are making your coffee at home to spring for
Speaker 1: the good stuff, get mugs that you like and that
Speaker 1: fit well in your hand, then choose a moment to
Speaker 1: pour your coffee when you can actually sit and enjoy it.
Speaker 1: Maybe that requires waiting until the kids are on the
Speaker 1: bus and then you sit for ten minutes before you
Speaker 1: drive to work or fire up your laptop. Or maybe
Speaker 1: you have really little ones to the point where you
Speaker 1: trade off with your partner to shower, so maybe each
Speaker 1: of you gives the other ten more minutes, maybe by
Speaker 1: getting up a little bit earlier so both of you
Speaker 1: can sit and savor. Or if your life allows for it,
Speaker 1: go sit outside for a bit or near a picture window,
Speaker 1: or spend the time reading something delightful. Really enjoy the
Speaker 1: experience of tasting your coffee, of feeling that heat, experiencing
Speaker 1: the smell all and then that sense of alertness. Sip
Speaker 1: slowly if that means you don't make it through the
Speaker 1: whole cup in ten minutes. Well, oh well, we are
Speaker 1: aiming for savoring, not slurping. If you do decide that
Speaker 1: you need half a cup later on, so be it.
Speaker 1: But when that first cup of coffee is really noticed
Speaker 1: and enjoyed, and when you're doing everything you can to
Speaker 1: get enough sleep, which you should be, then that might
Speaker 1: be all you need. You'll be possibly helping your brain
Speaker 1: with that good coffee, but you'll definitely be waking yourself
Speaker 1: up in a lovely way. And who couldn't use more
Speaker 1: of that? In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey,
Speaker 1: everybody I'd love to hear from. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows