Shanahan and Hughes hypothesized that ingesting high amounts of caffeine would increase state anxiety and the effects of performance induced stress. Nineteen men and twenty-seven women were randomly assigned into one of four groups. Prior to ingesting the experiment, participants were assessed for state and trait anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Afterwards, two of the groups were administered highly caffeinated coffee, while the other two were given decaffeinated coffee. The participants were told to drink no caffeinated beverages or ingest any chocolate the morning of the study, as not to alter results. Next, one of the groups in each condition was assigned to complete a high stress activity. The high stress groups had twenty-five minutes to complete a difficult reasoning test, which normally takes thirty-five minutes to complete. To further heighten stress, the participants were told that the test could be easily completed in the allotted time and that another group member would check their answers afterwards. One of the groups in each condition was also assignment to a low stress activity, which was a personality test. These groups were told that there were no wrong answers and that their responses would be anonymous. After completing their respective activities, participants were once again tested for their state anxiety (Shanahan & Hughes, 1986). …show more content…
The participants who ingested higher amounts of caffeine, but completed the low stress activity, demonstrated a slight increase in their state anxiety. These results were consistent with the researchers hypothesis that high caffeine dosage would increase state anxiety and performance induced stress (Shanahan & Hughes,
Caffeine’s mental appeal is just as trendy as its physical purpose. Caffeine has been proven to stimulate the central nervous system. Caffeine stimulates the Central Nervous System at high levels, like the medulla and cortex, and even has the ability to reach the spinal cord in larger doses. The effect of caffeine in the cortex is a clearer thought process and also can rid the body of fatigue. This gives people a greater ability of concentration for 1-3 hours. For athletes competing in sports where quick thinking and rapid reactions are necessary, caffeine can provide a huge edge. However, these results are much more inconsistent than the experiments done on caffeine in endurance sports. (http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm)
Caffeine is a natural central nervous system stimulant. It is considered a drug that if is overly consumed can be dangerous for one’s body. Caffeine is a temporary energy booster that improves mood and alertness for most people, mainly athletes. It can be an eye-opener in the morning, could be drunk or eaten on practice brakes, and for some, it just became a habit that they cannot go through a day without a cup of coffee before exiting their doorways. Furthermore, it requires good health and stamina for athletes to perform throughout the game, particularly the one in teams,
1. To assess the effect of caffeine on persistence researchers assign their participants to a group that gets a non-caffeinated beverage or a group with a caffeinated beverage. They measure how much time the participants spend on a difficult puzzle.
Thesis: Caffeine can have many different effects on the body depending on the amount of consumption.
An independent samples t-test was conducted to examine the difference between experimental conditions on test performance. The results indicated a significant difference between participants who consumed the caffeinated beverage and participants who did not, with participants in the caffeinated group (M = 7.64, SD = 2.41) performing worse than participants in the non-caffeinated group (M = 9.81, SD = 3.16), t (97) = 2.14, p < .05.
Caffeine is one of the most consumed psychoactive substances around the world. Caffeine is not bad for health, some researchers even show positive effects. Caffeine appears to reduce fatigue. And in this way also has an indirect effect on decision. Regarding cognitive function, caffeine has an effect on reaction time. Some studies also show a positive effect on long-term memory.
Various studies have been conducted in attempts to connect the use of caffeine with increased endurance levels. Graham and Spriet (1995) conducted a double-blind test involving eight endurance runners. Each participated in a control test previous to the study in which they ran a prescribed distance, to the point of exhaustion. All ate similar meals and abstained for caffeinated substances previous to the trials. Over a four-week period, each runner returned to the laboratory to run the prescribed distance while intravenously being given varying doses of caffeine. A blood and oxygen sample was collected every fifteen minutes during the run in order to record the time span until physical exhaustion was reached. The results confirmed that low doses of caffeine caused a drastic increase in endurance levels, while not altering the epinephrine (or adrenaline) levels. Also, large doses of caffeine caused great increases in plasma epinephrine levels while only slightly altering the endurance levels. This test, therefore, supposes that small doses of caffeine, when compared to
Symptoms that follow caffeine consumption are: anxiety, panic attacks, increased heart palpitations, trembling, stress, heartburn, and the deprivation of sleep (Driedger, Doyle par 2). Over time these symptoms can become more severe and eventually will become a major disturbance in one’s life. The anxiety that comes from this can be especially harmful to those who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as GAD-General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder as the caffeine can stimulate a panic attack (Human par 3). The most apparent concern of caffeine consumption, is its effects on teen life. Dr. Jim Lane, a researcher at Duke University stated, “Teens are chronically sleep deprived. Caffeine use might be a consequence of that, and also a cause. Drinking coffee could lead to sleep-onset insomnia, or a delay in going to bed, that contributes to sleep deprivation” (Teens par 7). This shows that as the caffeine trend among teens continue, the link to teen sleep deprivation strengthens. Not only does it prevent the continuation of sleep, but also the process of even falling asleep is delayed. The more deprived of sleep these
It may be the dangerously hot cup that burns your hand even through the cup sleeve, the friendly barista that slides your cup across the counter while yelling your name so loud people outside can hear, or the delicious and overpriced breakfast items in the display case. However, more times than not, it’s the latte with three shots of espresso that you deem necessary every morning. Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug, with over 70% of adults ingesting it on a daily basis (Fredholm, 316). Bertil Fredholm, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the Karolinska Institutet, elaborates on how caffeine affects and alters psychological functions based on an educational standpoint in “How Drugs can Stimulate Psychic Functions – Using Caffeine as an Example.” On the other hand, “Early caffeine exposure: Transient and long-term consequences on brain excitability” written by Jana Tchekalarova et al., expands the ideas of Fredholm through the use of psychological studies as well as their advanced background in the field of psychology and knowledge of the brain. While both give similar information on caffeine and the brain, the educational and psychological disciplines have varied ways of conveying their message. Fredholm’s approach to this topic proves itself to be more effective as he gives a
All around the world, people drink coffee, tea and caffeinated drinks to wake up in the morning, to be more vigilant and alert throughout the day. Not only does this keep individuals alert but also allows them to focus and efficiently manage their time throughout their day. This quality of caffeine has caused it to be one of the most highly consumed psychoactive drugs. Individuals who require frequent intakes of Caffeine often feel tired, weak, drowsy if they tend to miss their cup of coffee early in the morning. Although, Caffeine is known for causing wakefulness and alertness it also has its downsides. If a person has a large dose of caffeine in a limited time, the drug could cause them trembling, anxiety and nausea. In long term effects,
The study is to see whether expectation of having consumed caffeine can improve performance and mood. It also wants to see whether caffeine effect the expectancy on reward responsivity. In order to conduct the study there was a sample of 88 non-smoking undergraduate, coffee drinkers. They were randomly assigned to caffeine or placebo condition.
Thesis Statement: Caffeine is something that almost everyone has consumed and some people are even addicted to, it has negative and positive effects on one’s health.
One on the beneficial effects on caffeine, two the negative effects, and finally on trends in caffeine consumption
Caffeine consumption was associated with fewer cognitive failures. This effect was apparent when non-consumers were compared with consumers which suggest that caffeine withdrawal did not underlie these effects (Smith 2001).
One part of the human body that too much consumption of caffeine can affect negatively the your heart. Caffeine speeds up your brain cells, which speeds up your heart beat in the process. Too much caffeine will also raise your blood pressure. Caffeine using adults were polled on their stress levels given a 1 to 5 rating, with 5 being the most stressful. With each stress rating, each adult averaged a 1.7/0.4 mm Hg in blood pressure, and 1.8 beats per minute more in heart rate than adults in the lower stress rating (Lane, J.D., 2002). With further testing, they found that stress level and caffeine went hand in hand, with the highest caffeine users being the ones with 5 stress ratings. This study showed that consuming caffeinated beverages raises your blood pressure and heart rate by a considerable amount. In the same study as above, they used 500 mg of caffeine (close to 4 cups of coffee) to see how much it raised a person’s blood pressure throughout a single day. On average a person’s blood pressure was 4 mm Hg higher during than day than on a normal