Many say their brains don't
start working properly in the morning until they have had a cup of
coffee. But the stimulating effect for which caffeine is famous for
may be an illusion, say researchers.
In a study carried out by
Bristol University recently, 379 people who abstained from caffeine
for 16 hours before drinking either caffeine or a placebo (dummy
drink) were tested for a range of responses afterwards. The
researchers found little variance in levels of alertness among the
volunteers.
Peter Rogers, from the
university's department of experimental psychology and one of the
leading authors of the study, said: "Our study shows that we don't
gain advantage from consuming caffeine."
But what makes people feel
different after a cup of coffee in the morning? The researchers say
that it is because it reverses the fatiguing effects of overnight
caffeine withdrawal.
Around half the volunteers
drank little or no caffeine and the other half were medium-high
caffeine consumers. All were asked to carry out a series of
computer tasks to test their level of memory, attentiveness and
vigilance. The medium-high caffeine consumers who received the
dummy drink reported a fall in alertness and an increase in
headaches, neither of which were reported by those who received
caffeine.
However, their
post-caffeine levels of alertness were no higher than those of no
or low-level consumers who received a placebo. This suggests
caffeine only brings coffee drinkers back up to "normal".
The researchers said their
findings could also apply to those who claim they rely on a morning
cup of tea to get their brains going.