If you’re anything like us, the first coffee of the day is the only thing that can get us up on a morning – and it turns out, there’s real science behind it. Everyone knows that coffee can give us a welcome caffeine hit, but it’s now been revealed that the drink also gives us an extra ‘special boost’ too. Scientists have claimed that the act of drinking a cup of joe gives the body a lift, making us more alert, which can’t be replicated merely with caffeine. In fact, new research shows that drinking hot coffee activates additional areas of the brain. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists from the University of Minho in Portugal and elsewhere looked into the effects of coffee outside of just caffeine content as part of a study – and they found that plain caffeine didn’t have the same impact. In fact, a cup of coffee also influenced working memory and goal-directed behaviour. “There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor functioning. When you get to understand better the mechanisms underlying a biological phenomenon, you open pathways for exploring the factors that may modulate it and even the potential benefits of that mechanism,” study co-author Nuno Sousa explained. Experts said that drinking coffee actually increased the connectivity in the brain’s more advanced nerve network controlling vision, and other parts involved in working memory, cognitive control and goal-directed behaviour – something not found when participants only took caffeine. Researchers also said that if subjects wanted to not just feel alert but ready to go, caffeine alone might not do the job. “Acute coffee consumption decreased the functional connectivity between brain regions of the default mode network, a network that is associated with self-referential processes when participants are at rest,” study co-author Maria Picó-Pérez said. “The subjects were more ready for action and alert to external stimuli after having coffee,” she added. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Rounding out a busy month of street style inspiration and surprisingly wearable runway trends, Paris Fashion Week — the city that concludes Fashion Month — served us some of the season’s biggest shows yet. As A-list celebrities, models, and fashion editors filled Parisian streets for the likes of Saint Laurent, Dior, Valentino, and Chanel, photographers outside the shows have captured the best transitional style moments that are sure to help us with between-season dressing.

Tesla Inc. made its second round of price cuts in China this week, further fueling concerns the carmaker

The trailer for Netflix's Scott Pilgrim Takes Off dropped this weekend and the show looks

Apple is planning to turn its TV app into something more akin to Netflix. According

Ray Jordan lost control of his head and arms, and his motor functions were gone when his parents rushed him to a hospital

Welcome to Sun Blocked, Refinery29’s global call to action to wake up to the serious dangers of tanning. No lectures or shaming, we promise. Instead, our goal is to arm you with the facts you need to protect your skin to the best of your ability, because there’s no such thing as safe sun.

This week’s new entertainment releases include country superstar Chris Stapleton’s fifth studio album, Michael Fassbender playing a hitman in David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Tim Allen putting on his Santa suit for season two of “The Santa Clauses.”

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 18, 2023--

There’s a major tournament for football fans to look out for this summer, with the Women’s World Cup set to take place. It’s the first time the tournament has been co-hosted, with both Australia and New Zealand set to play host to games in the biggest event in the women’s game. Things kick off on July 20 and the final will eventually take place on August 20. Sarina Wiegman’s England side are looking to add the World Cup to their collection after victory in the Euros in 2022. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, they’ll be missing captain Leah Williamson as well as Beth Mead and Fran Kirby through injury. There are numerous places showing the games in London, but you’ll have to get up early to watch the games as they kick off in the morning for viewers in the UK. The list of England group games is below: Saturday July 22 - England vs Haiti, 10.30am Friday July 28 - England vs Denmark, 9.30am Tuesday August 1 - China vs England, 12pm These are some of the best places in London to catch the Lionesses in action. Boxpark (Shoreditch, Croydon and Wembley) Boxpark is always good for a party when the football is on, and all three venues in London are showing World Cup games. The Wembley and Croydon venues can hold up to 1,200 capacity, and you can guarantee the place will be rocking for England matches. It’s not just the live screenings either, as there’ll also be “fun-filled games, live performances, and a range of family-friendly activities” at the Croydon and Wembley locations as part of the family-friendly screenings. Boxpark, various locations, boxpark.co.uk Belushi's With chains in London Bridge, Hammersmith, Camden, Greenwich and Shepherd's Bush, Belushis offer plenty of dependable venues to watch the tournament from. If you pre-book, there’s also the chance to make use of their Prime Time Lager multi-buy offer of a five-bottle bucket for £25.00 across Belushi’s London locations. Various locations, belushis.com Four Thieves Battersea pub Four Thieves are going all in for the World Cup this year, showing all the England matches and offering brunch to fans watching the Lionesses’s first game of the tournament. Brunch tickets include a meal from the menu as well as bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys until 2pm, with all the action shown on the venue’s HD projector screen. Stick around after for bingo, music and party games, too. 51, Lavender Gardens, Battersea, SW11 1DJ, the-four-thieves.com TOCA Social With the games starting early in the day, TOCA Social at the O2 is offering people the chance to work remotely while watching the games. A £20 ticket gets you unlimited tea and coffee and either breakfast or lunch, as well as plenty of plugs to power up your laptop. The ‘interactive football and dining experience’ could be a great place to check out the action this summer. Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX, sevenrooms.com Bar Kick One of the best sports bars in East London is opening its doors for the Women’s World Cup. If you fancy making a day of it afterwards, the venue also has interactive dart boards and foosball tables to hire out.Shoreditch High St, E1 6JE, barkicklondon.com Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

After 50 years behind the camera as a successful director, Sally Potter has kickstarted a music career

Eating a snack late at night carries significantly more negative health implications compared to snacking during the day, a new study has found. According to researchers at King’s College London, people who eat most of their snacks in the evening after 9pm saw larger spikes in their blood sugar compared to those snacked earlier in the day. The group who snacked later also had higher concentrations of fat in their blood compared to those who snacked earlier. The researchers studied data from 1,000 people who took part in the Zoe Predict study. The participants kept a food diary and wore blood sugar monitors in order to keep track of the impact of snacking. On average, they ate two snacks a day, with one in three “late evening snackers” eating most of their snacks after 9pm instead of between meals. High blood sugar and fat can lead to diabetes and heart disease, studies have found. People with diabetes are also more likely to have other conditions that raise the risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure. The Zoe Predict project is a group of in-depth nutritional research studies that aim to reveal how and why people respond differently to the same foods. Kate Bermingham, a postdoctoral fellow at King’s College London and lead author of the study, said: “Surprisingly little has been published on snacking, despite the fact that it accounts for 20 to 25 per cent of energy intake. “Predict followed a large number of people and captured detailed information on their snacking behaviours, allowing this in-depth exploration of snacking on health.” Researchers analysed the relationship between the number of snacks participants ate, the quality of the snacks and the timing with blood fats and insulin levels. Snacking on higher quality foods, which are described as foods that contain significant amounts of nutrients relative to the calories contained, was associated with better bodily responses. The study concluded that the most important factor in determining the body’s response is the quality of snacks, not how often or how much they are consumed. Foods like fruit or vegetables resulted in a better blood fat and insulin response compared to processed foods, such as biscuits and cake. Bermingham added: “Our study showed that the quality of snacking is more important than the quantity or frequency of snacking, thus choosing high quality snacks over the highly processed snacks is likely beneficial. “Timing is also important, with late night snacking being unfavourable for health. This may mean that, universally, snacking late in the evening and interrupting the overnight fasting window is detrimental to health.” The study was presented at a meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. Read More My Taylor Swift exercise class has led me down a luxury fitness rabbit hole Husband fired from family business after wife roleplayed with reborn dolls MrBeast YouTuber Kris Tyson comes out as transgender: ‘I’m excited to authentically be myself’ Scientists share the 8 habits that impact your lifespan the most Cara Delevingne says her journey to sobriety has been worth ‘every second/ Bisexual people ‘experience worse health than other adults’