Friday, February 13, 2004


coffee loves women

"[caffeine] tended to reduce ratings of stress in women."

this from a u.k. study on the effect of office coffee on men working alone or in teams. after you read thru all the various combinations, it's interesting to note that those who received the placebo coffee with no caffeine still reported feeling more stressed.

once again, it's psychological. since people "know" that caffeine is a stimulant, they react as they are "supposed" to, not as actually affected. the famed placebo effect.

thus, i think that this study proves only that stress causes stress! or maybe it just proves that office coffee, which is pretty much uniformly terrible, causes stress. . .

but seriously, i do like the fact that more and more studies seem to show that women and coffee have a special affinity. for females, coffee reduces pain, reduces suicidal thinking, helps lift depression, etc. etc. all those things long-time readers have seen reported here.

more on students who demand fair-trade coffee, this time in canada.

and finally, i confess: i'm helpless before suzanne's lion's gate chocolate-covered kona coffee beans. helpless.

posted by fortune | 9:12 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments