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Have you ever heard that coffee and caffeine are bad for kids because it stunts their growth? Well an argument between Ryan and his wife lead him to look into this seemingly verifiable scientific fact and it turns out this super common knowledge idea is a myth. Made up for marketing purposes by C.W. Post to sell his coffee alternative product, and it worked even better than he could have ever expected. The scientific evidence directly counters this idea though. Ryan and Zach discuss how this myth took hold in the U.S. We discuss the neuroscience of caffeine and how it works to make you feel awake. Also, how does caffeine interact with an ADHD brain? Finally we move onto how to maximize the effects of caffeine and get the most out of the most commonly used psychoactive substance on the planet. If you want to have the most efficient coffee intake according to neuroscience, then follow this advice. The episode ends with a discussion on political violence in the news, then specifically the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner. And a follow up of Ryan’s prediction from earlier in the year about the President’s apparent dementia and how it affected the events that unfolded at the dinner party.

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Created by: Ryan Pevey at evolio.org and Zach Jobe @zhjobe

Concept: A science and comedy conversation about caffeine, whether it’s bad for kids, how does it work on your brain and ADHD. As well as how to maximize the effects of caffeine.

Tools: DaVinci Resolve, GIMP

Outro music by Maksym Malko from Pixabay (pixabay.com/music/upbeat-podcast-interview-music-254186/)

The mural featured in the thumbnail is by Ryan Henry Ward

Podcast streams:

redcircle.com/shows/04ecc7a3-3383-4ca0-bff3-c55d04100ed5

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-science-stories/id1874450380

open.spotify.com/show/50xaIb6jjmSJv7georpfVt?si=16e6c0e030414593

music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0415a99-f209-4c66-80c5-d8eb2b490811/hidden-science-stories

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Citations:

1. Lieberman et al. (2002). "Effects of caffeine, sleep loss, and stress on cognitive performance and mood during U.S. Navy SEAL training." Psychopharmacology, 164(3), 250–261.
2. Reifman et al. (2022). "2B-Alert Web 2.0, an Open-Access Tool for Predicting Alertness and Optimizing the Benefits of Caffeine." JMIR Mental Health / Sleep.
3. Fredholm et al. — Multiple foundational papers on adenosine receptor pharmacology.
4. Lane, J. (1999). Duke University / National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute study on caffeine, adrenaline, and blood pressure in daily life.
5. Temple, J.L. et al. (2010). "Caffeine Use in Children: What we know, what we have left to learn, and why we should worry." PMC2699625.
6. Smithsonian Magazine: "It's a Myth: There's No Evidence That Coffee Stunts Kids' Growth."
7. Institute of Medicine / USAMRMC: Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance (NCBI Bookshelf, NBK223801).

0:00 Caffeine myths and Cereal Quacks

18:24 Health effects of caffeine

23:08 The Neuroscience of Caffeine

40:55 Optimizing caffeine with neuroscience

49:38 Point of Optimism, Caffeine isn’t bad in moderation

52:16 Political Violence and the WHCD

01:06:31 DJT in the background of a photo