Can Drinking a Cup of Coffee Improve Concentration and Performance?

Scientists Question the Effectiveness of Caffeine in Boosting Concentration

Scientists from the Portuguese University of Miño questioned the effectiveness of caffeine as a separate substance for increasing concentration and performance.

No Improvement Found in Caffeine Consumption Alone

Notes in Frontiers magazine in Behavioral Neuroscience reports that caffeine consumption alone (not in coffee) did not show any improvement in study participants’ outcomes, as there was no activity in the brain regions involved, indicating a placebo effect with the drink.

The Experiment and Findings

The researchers asked study participants to refrain from consuming caffeinated foods and drinks for at least three hours prior to the start of the experiment. Thereafter, each participant drank at least one cup of coffee per day, during which the researchers had to perform an MRI of the brain before and 30 minutes after they drank a cup of coffee or caffeine, during which they had to relax and not be distracted. think about their worries.

The researchers thought that people who drank coffee noticed higher activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive memory, as well as in areas of the brain involved in introspection and reaction. But it turned out that drinking coffee and caffeine made participants more willing to complete tasks. However, a cup of coffee increased connections between brain regions involved in working memory, cognitive control, and directed behavior, while in the caffeine-only group, these regions did not activate to the same level.

Coffee vs Other Caffeinated Drinks

Based on these results, caffeine alone is not enough to improve concentration, so you need to drink a cup of coffee for this. In addition, other caffeinated drinks did not produce the same results as a cup of coffee. The reason for the improvement in performance after drinking a cup of coffee may be due to its smell and taste, or the problem may be psychological.

Source: Linta. EN

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