On WorldMag Community today, someone asked about help for insomnia. I rather facetiously suggested having a baby, as I found that after Zach was born I was so sleep-deprived that I never had trouble falling asleep anymore. I was so prone to nodding off, I had to start drinking coffee to keep from falling asleep while I was driving.
Today I was experiencing the usual mid-afternoon slump (made worse by not having gotten a full night’s sleep the last few days – I no longer have a baby to cure my insomnia). I IM’d a co-worker who agreed that it would be great to have a comfy couch to curl up on for a nap. In lieu of that, I got a cup of coffee. She got an apple.
An apple? Since when does that combat sleepiness? She sent me a link to a blog post explaining it. Unfortunately I had no apples handy to test it out. After I finished my coffee, I had a mug of cranberry apple herb tea, but my co-worker agreed that it probably didn’t have enough apple in it to perk me up.
I admit I’m still somewhat skeptical. The idea certainly shows up in a lot of places on the internet, but then, that’s the internet for you. I read one article that claims “According to the MythBusters Web site, a healthy alternative to drinking coffee is eating a full apple every morning.”
I give a certain amount of credence to the MythBusters because they show how they go about testing each hypothesis. But I couldn’t find anything about this topic under the Food section of their Myth Results. The only thing I could find on the Mythbusters website about apples vs caffeine was in a forum where people suggest myths to be busted.
I’m inclined to agree with the person who commented “I think that if Apples were a stimulant on the order of coffee someone would have noticed a couple of centuries ago.” But I hope Adam, Jamie, and crew will consider taking on this myth.
I don’t see apples featured in the MythBusters Fall 2012 preview. But then, trying to stay awake isn’t nearly as dramatic as blowing things up. So maybe at some point I’ll get to see them tackle apples vs caffeine. If I can stay awake long enough to watch the show…
Posted by Pauline 
Perennial Student 