Coffee’s Good for Words

From The Smithsonian:

A cup or two of coffee doesn’t just give you energy—it might make you a think a little more quickly. That’s not exactly a shocker, but for coffee drinkers, a new study showing that caffeine can improve verbal processing speed should put a nice perk in your day.

Despite conventional wisdom that caffeine is a harmful drug, a growing body of research is demonstrating that it can confer a wide range of benefits when consumed in moderation. Within the past year, studies have indicated that caffeine can help improve muscle strength for seniors, delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and reduce the risk of skin cancer.

Now, a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE suggests that 200 mg of caffeine—the equivalent of a couple of cups of coffee—can help the brain identify words more quickly and precisely. In a study conducted by psychologists Lars Kuchinke and Vanessa Lux from Ruhr University in Germany, healthy young adults given a 200 mg caffeine tablet exhibited improved speed and accuracy while completing a word recognition task.