People swear they can鈥檛 function or wake up without drinking their morning cup of joe, but it鈥檚 possible they鈥檙e getting that caffeine buzz without drinking the coffee itself.
A new study, published in Consciousness and Cognition, found coffee drinkers could be conditioned to feel the effects of coffee simply from responding to smells, sights and sounds associated with the drink.
Researchers from the University of Toronto and Monash University in Australia found they could heighten the arousal, ambition and focus in regular coffee drinkers without having them actually drink anything.
鈥淪melling coffee gives rise to the beverage's psychoactive, arousing effects,鈥� marketing prof. Eugene Chan, at Monash鈥檚 business school, said in a press release. 鈥淓nough for us to obtain the same arousal sensations without consumption.鈥�
He said the effect echoed the findings of the Pavlov's dog experiment. That experiment conditioned dogs to salivate simply at the sound of a bell, after the dogs were repeatedly given treats after humans rang a bell.
Likewise, the scent of coffee essentially had the same effect on those drinking the beverage, Chan said.
鈥淲alking past your favourite café, smelling the odours of coffee grounds, or even witnessing coffee-related cues in the form of advertising can trigger the chemical receptors in our body,鈥� he said.
BEING EXPOSED TO FOODS CAN AFFECT HOW WE THINK
Researchers exposed 871 participants to coffee and tea-related cues by having them come up with advertising slogans for the drinks or by creating mock news stories about the drink鈥檚 benefits.
As these experiments were happening, Chan鈥檚 team measured people鈥檚 arousal levels and heart rates and found "mere exposure to coffee-related cues might trigger arousal in and of themselves without ingesting any form of caffeine.鈥�
This coffee-less caffeine buzz led to higher levels of alertness, energy, heart rate, and made participants more focused.
The team also found the cognitive-altering effects of coffee were more prevalent in western cultures, where researchers believed coffee is 鈥渕ore popular and has connotations related to energy, focus and ambition.鈥�
"Our research can offer intriguing implications, as it relies not on physiology but rather psychological associations to change our cognitive patterns," Chan said.
"This study could even help to explain how drinking decaffeinated coffee can produce faster reaction times on tasks,鈥� he added.
Chan said that this study adds to previous research which looked into the effects of food beyond simply satisfying hunger and nutrition.
He said 鈥渕ere exposure to, or reminders of [some foods], affect how we think.鈥�
