Java gives caffeine-naive a boost, too

“The take-home message for women is that whether you are hooked on caffeine or not, if you need a boost coffee improves your mental alertness and can have a calming affect on your heart rate,” said Michael Kennedy, a professor in exercise physiology in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, lead author on the study. “In addition, a large coffee has more than enough caffeine to see these changes.”

Kennedy and a team of students looked at how 10 women who drank caffeine daily and 10 caffeine-naïve women who drank less than two servings per week were affected by measuring heart rate, blood pressure, alertness and the ability to perform a tough mental test after consuming a 350-millilitre-sized coffee. The study subjects were aged 18 to 37.

After eating a normal breakfast, participants were asked to drink a cup of regular coffee containing approximately 140 milligrams of caffeine. After allowing 50 minutes for the absorption of the caffeine, participants in both groups were required to complete two word tasks. Heart rate, blood pressure and alertness were monitored before and after the test.

Of some concern, noted Kennedy, is that baseline blood pressure taken before the groups digested the caffeine was significantly higher in the habituated coffee drinkers. “This indicates that there may be some long-term cardiovascular adjustment to digesting caffeine on a daily basis,” said Kennedy, adding that though the sample was small, the results were statistically and clinically significant.

“For people at risk for high blood pressure, if you're a habituated coffee drinker, reducing your caffeine intake would be an effective way of potentially reducing your blood pressure.”

Media Contact

Bev Betkowski EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.ualberta.ca

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Results for control of pollutants in water

Brazilian scientists tested a simple and sustainable method for monitoring and degrading a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, compounds present in fossil fuels and industrial waste. An article published in the journal Catalysis…

A tandem approach for better solar cells

Perovskite-based solar cells were first proved in 2009 to have excellent light-absorbing properties of methylammonium lead bromide and methylammonium lead iodide, collectively referred to as lead halide perovskites or, more…

The behavior of ant queens is shaped by their social environment

Specialization of ant queens as mere egg-layers is reversible / Queen behavioral specialization is initiated and maintained by the presence of workers. The queens in colonies of social insects, such…

Partners & Sponsors