University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, March 25, 1987
9
Jolts of caffeine affect thinking, two studies find
By JENNIFER FORKER Staff writer
Studies conducted by two psychologists indicate that caffeine helps some people perform difficult mental tasks but hinders others.
The caffeine jolt from morning coffee helps impulsive, extroverted people perform difficult mental tasks by waking them up mentally in the morning, said William Revelle, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, and Kristen Anderson, an assistant professor at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.
Caffeine hinders thoughtful, introverted people who are performing difficult mental tasks by overstimulating them, the two psychologists reported.
Revelle spent seven years studying the effects that caffeine had on the thinking process of 700 people.
Anderson, who assisted Revelle early in his research, recently finished a similar study of 100 people.
Peter Reyer, University of Kansas Medical Center dietician, said caffeine is a nervous system stimulant that heightened awareness and quick thinking.
But he said that large amounts of caffeine scrambled the ability to concentrate, making thinking more difficult.
Beyer said some people might suffer anxiety, restlessness, irritability, confusion and a rapid heartbeat after consuming large amounts of caffeine. But he didn't associate those symptoms with any particular type of person as the Revelle and Anderson studies do.
Beyer said that he wouldn't comment on the Revelle and Anderson studies because he had not studied them and was unqualified to make a judgment.
He said that evaluating the studies would be difficult because they were based on human characteristics that were difficult to measure, such as anxiety, stress, worry and fear.
No conclusive research has been conducted about the harmful effects of caffeine, Beyer said, but past studies have shown a correlation between caffeine and cardiovascular disease.
One mug of coffee contains from 200 to 250 milligrams of caffeine. A can of pop contains about 60 milligrams of caffeine, and a cup of tea contains about 40 milligrams. He said the highest amount of caffeine that could be consumed without risk was five cups of coffee a day, or about 1,000 milligrams of caffeine.
"There are some people who can drink 10 cups of coffee and sleep like a baby," he said.
Other problems include a dependency on the caffeine boost. Some people become addicted to caffeine and resist a resistance to it. Bye,eyer.
Chris Golledge, Nevada, Mo., sophomore, is such a person. Caffeine doesn't hinder his ability to fall asleep at night.
Mamoun Khanfav, Amman, Jordan, junior, said, "If I drink a lot of coffee, I don't think at all."
Khanfav said he'd never drink coffee again. He one evening he drank five cups of coffee while studying for an exam and didn't understand any of the test questions the next morning.
Beyer said people who drink coffee all day, about 20 to 25 cups, would suffer minor withdrawal effects if they reduced their intake.
The Associated Press supplied some information for this story.
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There are no fixed points in space.
There are no fixed points in space. Einstein used that statement to theorize about science. Merce Cunningham uses it to create dance.
Cunningham's dances happen all over the stage, changing the center, expanding and contracting.
"You have like you do in space," he said to about 75 people last night at Murphy Hall.
The Merce Cunningham Dance Company from New York will perform "Points in Space," choreographed by Cunningham, as one of its numbers in today's 8 p.m. performance in Hoch Auditorium.
"This is a new world. This is something to risk," he said about choreographing for film, a medium he has experimented with for about eight years.
In the piece was first performed on videotape, which Cunningham and the BBC produced in London.
As is Cunningham's style, the dancers won't know what music they are dancing to until they are on stage. The music and the dance are two separate entities to Cunningham, who rehearses them entirely separately.
"They're dancing with each other," Cunningham said. "They play off each other."
But he exposes his audiences to both music and dance, because he says they are both part of human experience.
"It's like life." he said. "You have two public senses. Sight and sound. They're part of what you're doing."
The 68-year-old dancer always is trying new ways to move. He watches people and animals for ideas.
"It's not an idea that's presented into movement. It's the movement itself," he said.
Elizabeth Sherbon, dance department director at the University of Kansas from 1961 to 1975, danced with Cunningham when both were dancing with Martha Graham in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
"He's very individual," Sherbon said. "He's just Mercie. He has his own way of doing things, and they're very exciting."
Cunningham's fascination for movement kept him interested and adventurous while he waited for audiences to appreciate his work. In the 1850s, he toured the United States in a Volkswagen bus with six other dancers, two musicians and one technical person.
"I would write 50 letters and get two responses, one of which was no." Cunningham said of his attempts to find sponsors for his performances.
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An Evening of Late Victorian Vocal Music with John Stephens, Bass, and the University of Kansas Chamber Choir James Ralston, Director Friday, March 27, 1987, 8:00 p.m. Swarthout Recital Hall Admission is free
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