Caffeine Enhances Memory Performance in Young Adults during Their Non-optimal Time of Day
Sherman SM, Buckley TP, Baena E, Ryan L
Frontiers in psychology · 41 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- University of Arizona
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2016-11-13 · Front Psychol · vol. 7 · p. 1764
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Cited
- 83 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 10.6× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 42 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Sleep and related disorders · Circadian rhythm and melatonin · Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Keywords
- Morning, Psychology, Arousal, Caffeine, Developmental psychology, Audiology, Cognitive psychology, Social psychology, Medicine, Psychiatry, Internal medicine
4 authors
From US
- Stephanie M. ShermanBoston College
- Timothy BuckleyUniversity of Arizona
- Elsa BaenaUniversity of Arizona
- Lee Ryan · correspondingUniversity of Arizona
Abstract
Many college students struggle to perform well on exams in the early morning. Although students drink caffeinated beverages to feel more awake, it is unclear whether these actually improve performance. After consuming coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated), college-age adults completed implicit and explicit memory tasks in the early morning and late afternoon (Experiment 1). During the morning, participants ingesting caffeine demonstrated a striking improvement in explicit memory, but not implicit memory. Caffeine did not alter memory performance in the afternoon. In Experiment 2, participants engaged in cardiovascular exercise in order to examine whether increases in physiological arousal similarly improved memory. Despite clear increases in physiological arousal, exercise did not improve memory performance compared to a stretching control condition. These results suggest that caffeine has a specific benefit for memory during students' non-optimal time of day - early morning. These findings have real-world implications for students taking morning exams.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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