Healthy Coffee Alternatives
We love our coffee at Visionary.
From ritualistic morning walks to the Village Bean to the blissful hum of our faithful coffee grinder that signifies the impending arrival of a fresh pot, caffeine is never in short supply around our office.
But like many things, coffee is best in moderation. So what can we do to stay productive throughout the day without pouring a third (or fourth) cup?
Lisa Evans details six coffee alternatives as part of Fast Company’s “Coffee Week” coverage from August. Here are three particularly interesting options that can help you increase productivity:
Eat some chocolate
If you opt for a piece of chocolate, choose dark over milk. Dark chocolate contains a small amount of caffeine to heighten mental alertness, but it also stimulates the release of serotonin; feel-good endorphins which heighten your mood. A 2007 study from the University of Nottingham found drinking cocoa rich in flavonoids (a key ingredient in dark chocolate) boosts blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours which can help increase performance and boost general alertness.
Take a power nap
Numerous studies have shown insufficient sleep is hazardous to our brain’s health. It lowers productivity, makes us more likely to make mistakes and causes us to have difficulty focusing on key tasks--which is why you may find yourself dozing off in the middle of an important meeting.
The cost of fatigue-related productivity is estimated at $1,967 per employee annually. Although the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of shut-eye a night, if a full-night’s rest isn’t an option, taking a nap has also been shown to be effective at increasing productivity. A famous study from NASA revealed just 26 minutes of shut-eye can help improve performance by 34% and alertness by 54%. A 2008 study showed a power nap is more effective than caffeine at boosting learning capacity and memory.
Raise the heat in the office
That chill you feel in the office may be causing your productivity to drop along with your temperature. Cornell University researchers found employees working in offices with low temperatures (of 68 degrees) committed 44% more errors and were less than half as productive than employees working in a warm office (of 77 degrees). When the body’s temperature drops, it uses up energy to stay warm. This leaves the brain with less energy to concentrate or to be creative. If you can’t raise the office temperature, be sure to pack a sweater or get a space heater.
What do you think? Would you be able to quit coffee cold turkey?
Read the full article by Fast Company for more coffee alternatives, and be sure to check out their coverage from “Coffee Week” for all things pertaining to joe and java.
