Coffee and Body Stiffness

Recently, Yogajess wrote in her blog about the effect of coffee on the body which results in stiffness. I have always had this love-hate relationship with coffee. I love coffee for its aroma; if someone in the office makes coffee, it really perks me up just to smell it. I hate it when after drinking coffee especially local coffee; I would have trouble getting to sleep at night.

I always try to take only 1 cup of coffee per day and usually take my coffee – Nescafe Gold - in the morning except on days when I go for my yoga class in the morning. Then, I will have to drink a cup of coffee after the class, normally feel very sleepy if I don’t have my cup of coffee for the day. I discovered that it is ok for me to drink Nescafe in the afternoon but not any other coffee.

I did some surfing on the net on the effects of coffee on the body and found some interesting articles : coffee – grounds for concern? Debunking Coffee Health Myths

Well, the effect of coffee has on someone may vary with another depending on how the body reacts to the caffeine. I know of someone who can sleep through the night even though he has just taken a cup of black coffee in the evening. Caffeine is the main ingredient in coffee. According to research, it is not harmful to drink one or two cups every day. However, those who exceed this can endure the negative effects that include difficulty in sleeping, headaches, irregular heartbeat, nausea and muscle tension. But persons who consume coffee can also have the same effects by consuming produces that contain caffeine. Examples of these are tea, sodas and chocolates.

Coffee effecting body stiffness? Couldn’t find anything on this. Well, I think our body is stiff due to sitting in our chair for too long especially if you are an office worker. Stiffness has an antidote. That antidote is stretching exercises. Stretching exercises take the ends of each muscle and mechanically pull them apart. By doing so, links between adjacent muscle fibres are mechanically broken. The fibres are brought into alignment - so they more nearly run parallel to one another. The muscle tissue itself is lengthened - allowing the sketelon to resume its full range of movement, and eliminating unused joint surfaces. Performed diligently, stretching exercises have the power to return most muscle tissues to their natural lengths over time. But a word of caution, stretching individual muscles too forcefully can damage them - by causing excessive microscopic tissue tearing. Age and stiffness is linked. If you look at young tree branches, they are moist and supple. By contrast, elderly branches tend to be dry and stiff. So, young people are usually more flexible.

I will still go back to having my cup of coffee everyday as research has also shown that coffee can help in the prevention and treatment of diseases and illnesses as varied as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, liver disease, skin cancer, Parkinsons's disease and more. Read article - Coffee benefits your health and protects against many diseases

"Flexibility without strength is not always desirable. Strengthen the muscles you stretch as well as stretching the muscles you strengthen”