Sorry, Folks: Coffee Doesn't Make You Work Better

I was out late last night at a few pre-show events for the Game Developers Conference, which starts today in San Francisco (I'll have photos and a report from the show tomorrow). And while drinking scotch and tequila shots with my co-workers and colleagues is nothing but good times, I knew I'd be paying the price come 8am.

How about a little pick-me-up with a cappuccino to get the blogging spirit rolling? Well, here's some bad news: A new study says that morning coffee is pretty much useless for increasing productivity. Instead: A morning coffee does little more than ease withdrawal symptoms from you not drinking caffeinated beverages while you were sleeping. In other words: Coffee doesn't make you more alert. It just makes you normal vs. people who don't drink caffeine.

A story on the subject (courtesy BBC) goes on to note that if you are not a regular drinker of caffeine, you might be able to get a benefit by that morning cup of coffee, but if you're hooked on the juice, the benefit soon disappears as caffeine becomes little more than a fix you need just to behave normally.

Sorry, java junkies. You might be better off reserving that latte for special occasions when you really need to be productive instead of downing a venti every morning. Besides, they also say that stuff'll kill you. (You might also try a 20-minute nap instead.)