Frequent caffeine consumption reduces gray matter volume in areas of the right medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus. Ten days of “caffeine abstinence” helps regenerate gray matter.
Meditation Associated With Increased Grey Matter In The Brain
Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns, suggesting long lasting brain changes, but a new study by researchers from Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.
Grey matter (or gray matter) is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distinguished from white matter in that it contains numerous cell bodies and relatively few myelinated axons, while white matter contains relatively few cell bodies and is composed chiefly of long-range myelinated axons.[1] The colour difference arises mainly from the whiteness of myelin. In living tissue, grey matter actually has a very light grey colour with yellowish or pinkish hues, which come from capillary blood vessels and neuronal cell bodies.[2]
one scientific study shows that coffee decreases the gray matter of the brain and another scientific study shows that meditation increases the gray matter of the brain.
but there are also many scientific papers that show the health benefits of coffee.
Personally, I hardly ever consume coffee or tea. Science is fascinating, however it often contradicts itself. Moreover, it is likely that, despite all efforts to prevent it, studies won't be replicable. A wonderful excuse to observe sensations and do as we think is appropriate if you ask me
hello all...have experimented over a lifetime with caffeine....am only now mildly addicted....have experienced too little and too much....all within a good cause of course ....but too much can kill you and too little is more comfortable and much cheaper....you'll see
mjaviem wrote: ↑Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:57 pm
I thought drinking coffee was against the fifth precept. I thought coffee was an intoxicant affecting one's heedfulness.
No, although sometimes people will claim that they personally find coffee so toxic that it completely prevents practising. Coffee makes one jittery and over-stimulated, but I don't think it could make one heedless. I know lots of monastics who drink it.
I gave up caffeine long before I had any sort of commitment to Buddhism. It was a fairly brutal withdrawal too. Speaking only for myself, I can think of few things I've done that are more beneficial for my health (physical and mental). I find that I'm a kinder and more relaxed person now. Though I still have anxiety at times, the level and intensity is much more manageable. I also sleep much better than I did before. At any rate, I personally count caffeine as an intoxicant to be avoided per the Fifth Precept.
salayatananirodha wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:31 am
i drink caffeine and energy drinks all the time and i think its really bad
i never have; even before finding Dhamma. Dhamma set me free at 24 years old. No intoxicants of any kind since.
There is always an official executioner. If you try to take his place, It is like trying to be a master carpenter and cutting wood. If you try to cut wood like a master carpenter, you will only hurt your hand.