Impact of Various Caffeine Vehicles on Mood and Cognitive, Neurological and Physiological Functions over Five Hours

Abstract

Although college students’ caffeine consumption has increased over the last decade, studies have not yet determined the time frame in which caffeine exerts its effects nor the impact of the vehicle by which caffeine is consumed. Sixty college students were randomly divided into one placebo (flour) and three caffeine treatment groups: 5-Hour Energy ®, Starbucks DoubleShot ®, or caffeine powder; all dosed at 3 mg caffeine/kg of body weight. A battery of tests was performed prior to dosing and repeated 2.5 and 5 hours post treatment. Mood was self-reported on a scale of 1-100 for happiness, alertness and focus. Cognitive function was assessed by Stroop and memory tests. Reaction time, heart rate, blood glucose, and electroencephalogram were recorded. All initial measurements across groups and group baselines vs 2.5 and 5 hour results were analyzed by ANOVA followed, when indicated, by post hoc t-tests at 95% confidence levels and only significant results are reported. All caffeine groups had elevations in mood and faster reaction times at 2.5 hours (most effects sustained for 5 hours). The 5-Hour Energy® group rated alertness higher than other caffeine treatments, and was the only group to demonstrate decreases in alpha waves, memory improvements, and impaired glucose homeostasis. All caffeine groups had improved cognition with decreased Stroop test time and the caffeine powder and 5-Hour Energy ® groups had improved Stroop test accuracy at 2.5 hours. The 5-Hour Energy shot ® had the greatest proportion of sustained caffeine effects across test parameters.

Cardiovascular and Autonomic Responses to Energy Drinks—Clinical Implications

“…Caffeine's enhancement of cognitive performance in states of low arousal and sleep deprivation are well documented [14]. In a randomized study of three different caffeine preparations (5-Hour Energy, Starbucks DoubleShot, and 3 mg/kg of caffeine powder) versus placebo, Paulus et al reported that all caffeine groups showed elevations in mood, faster reaction times, and improved cognition [15]. Importantly, doses of more than 200 mg caffeine are often associated with side effects such as insomnia, headaches, tachycardia, and arrhythmia [16,17].…”

Investigating the effects of caffeine on executive functions using traditional Stroop and a new ecologically-valid virtual reality task, the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions (JEF © )

“…Whereas Kenemans et al (1999) showed caffeine to reduce interference during this task in one of their studies but not the other. Hasenfratz and Battig (1992) reported a reducing effect/improvement of caffeine on the Stroop, and time to complete the task has also been shown to be decreased following caffeine (Patat et al, 2000;Dixit et al, 2012;Pilli et al, 2013;Paulus et al, 2015), whereas Foreman et al (1989 found caffeine to actually increase Stroop interference. This inconsistency in the literature could be caused by the reliability of the task to detect the subtle changes in of a mild stimulant such as caffeine on EF.…”

Analysing the EEG Signal Effectiveness of Chiang Rai Arabica Drip Coffee on Individual Human Brainwave

“…In a previous brain waves analysis experiment, the t-test was used to detect the effectiveness of caffeine on brain waves, and the post-test t-test analyzed at 95% confidence level. The results showed significant differences [15]. In another study, Clarke used an independent sample t-test to compare the activity of total power and power for each band in each region, and the θ/β ratio between the subgroup and the control group [10].…”

“…According to Adam R. Clarke's study, children with attention deficits have low Beta wave activity, and children with hyperactivity disorder have high their Beta wave activity [10]. In other studies, Paulus has demonstrated that caffeine is a psychotropic substance that can stimulate Beta waves [15]. R. Paulus argued that he used caffeine to collect beta waves (13 to 30 Hz) from 60 college students, using 200 mg of caffeine or 60 ml.…”

“…Subjects were tested, and the result demonstrated that coffee could improve cognitive ability, shorten reaction time, increase concentration, and increase short-term memory. [15]. In W.M.…”