That depends more or less entirely on whether you would wake up feeling refreshed and alert without doing that. That and how strong the placebo effect is.
Why do you say that? I suppose it depends how close the humidifier is to my sleeping place, but I think the concept is medically viable. It would make a mess, to be sure, but it would work.
I suppose it depends on how the ultrasonics actually work. An evaporation (heat) based one would leave the caffeine molecules behind as solid crystals.
While it doesn't appear to come out and say anything to directly address that, the howstuffworks article does suggest that you might very well be right, and that the caffeine would end up in the mist. The following cited text supports your proposition.
Impeller and ultrasonic designs have low energy costs but raise two concerns. First, if the water gets stagnant, these designs will spray the stagnant water, and any bacteria it contains, into your home. This is why it is important to clean the tank regularly and refill it with clean water when you haven't been running it. Many high-end ultrasonic units therefore have antibacterial features built in. For example, some units use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria.
It then goes on to say something similar about minerals.
If you put it into the tank, an ultrasonic will put it up in the air. When these first came out, they didn't have demineralization filters. My parents bought a console size one, it held 5+ gallons. It could pump out that much in a day.
Let me tell you, 5+ gallons of hard water contains a lot of minerals. Something looking like frost started to grow, first on my CD covers, then on the plexi front of the stereo, then on the TV screen. You wiped it with your finger, and it was just white dust. Took a couple days to put 2 and 2 together, we thought at first it was some weird mold.
They (meaning scientists) figured out soon afterwards that breathing these ultra-fine minerals into your lungs could cause problems. They largely pulled ultrasonics off the market, until they came up with the demineralization cartridges.
(edited: I meant to say "meaning scientists", not "mean scientists")
How do the demineralization cartridges work? Filtration? Ionization? That might cause a problem for your coffee scheme. I suppose there's one way to find out.
Well, I trust that you will keep us all apprised on the progress of your experiment. Then, we'll know.
I'm not sure how you're going to get metrics. It's not like there's a device that can measure caffeine concentrations in the air. At least not at a reasonable cost.
No, because I'm going to run vodka through it and get good and sleepy before I put in the coffee. I figure it will take a while for the vodka to wear off and for enough caffeine to accumulate to have the desired effect.
If I fill my ultrasonic humidifier with coffee before I go to bed, will I awake feeling refreshed and alert?![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2007-12-20 01:34 pm (UTC)If it works, I'll fill my humidifiers with Mt Dew.}:P
no subject
on 2007-12-20 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 02:46 pm (UTC)And jittery dreams, at that.
no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:35 pm (UTC)Did you know you can buy caffeine inhalers?
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/buzzaire.shtml
no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:48 pm (UTC)While it doesn't appear to come out and say anything to directly address that, the howstuffworks article does suggest that you might very well be right, and that the caffeine would end up in the mist. The following cited text supports your proposition.
Impeller and ultrasonic designs have low energy costs but raise two concerns. First, if the water gets stagnant, these designs will spray the stagnant water, and any bacteria it contains, into your home. This is why it is important to clean the tank regularly and refill it with clean water when you haven't been running it. Many high-end ultrasonic units therefore have antibacterial features built in. For example, some units use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria.
It then goes on to say something similar about minerals.
no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:54 pm (UTC)Let me tell you, 5+ gallons of hard water contains a lot of minerals. Something looking like frost started to grow, first on my CD covers, then on the plexi front of the stereo, then on the TV screen. You wiped it with your finger, and it was just white dust. Took a couple days to put 2 and 2 together, we thought at first it was some weird mold.
They (meaning scientists) figured out soon afterwards that breathing these ultra-fine minerals into your lungs could cause problems. They largely pulled ultrasonics off the market, until they came up with the demineralization cartridges.
(edited: I meant to say "meaning scientists", not "mean scientists")
no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 04:23 pm (UTC)I'm not sure how you're going to get metrics. It's not like there's a device that can measure caffeine concentrations in the air. At least not at a reasonable cost.
no subject
on 2007-12-20 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-20 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-21 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-21 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-21 05:42 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-12-22 01:04 am (UTC)