Caffeine promotes concentration
Caffeine, an alkaloid found in coffee, tea or cola drinks and energy not only helps you stay awake, but aids concentration and improves response time and performance on memory tasks in the short term.
A group of Spanish researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Institute for Biomedical Research Pi i Sunyer studied the effects of moderate consumption of caffeine on brain function with magnetic resonance imaging.
The researchers concluded that taking the equivalent of two cola or coffee one hour before a test can improve mental performance.
Over 90% of European adults consume caffeine daily in one form or another, since their effects are known as a mild stimulant, say the investigators.
Among other skills, they measured the speed of information processing, manual dexterity, visual and spatial ability, memory, immediate and sustained attention of a group of university students between 18 and 25.
According to preliminary results, those who ingested caffeine and sugar together had a brain activation pattern different from the rest.
To pay as the subjects of other groups who only drank water, glucose water or water containing caffeine, who took caffeine and glucose needed less brain activation to perform a task of attention, which can be interpreted as a facilitation mechanism intellectual performance.
Previous studies have confirmed this beneficial effect with low doses of caffeine, while the consumption of excessively high doses of caffeine (500 mg) is associated with moods of anxiety and overstimulation.
“There are several effects that caffeine may exert on the central nervous system when consumed in low to moderate amounts. Thus, increases alertness and reduces fatigue, especially in situations of fatigue or low alertness,” said Dr. Ana Adam, one of the coordinators of the work.
Caffeine also increases the surveillance performance in simple tasks that require sustained responses and in tasks that require precise movements.
“In contrast, when you stop drinking, the damage on the performance are scarce and of low magnitude. There is often an increase in perceptions of negative mood following the withdrawal of caffeine, although such effects may be more related to the expectations of consumers with their own hardship, “said Adan.