Can’t afford coffee? Thinking about it is just as good: Study
According to a new study, merely thinking about coffee is as good as drinking it. Good one, brain.
Do you know what would go down well right now? Your morning coffee. Just think about it. That smell, that texture, the dance that goes with acquiring that ambrosia of the gods. According to the University of Toronto, you don’t need it. A new study from that institution believes that merely thinking about coffee is as good as drinking it.
Dr Sam Maglio, the co-author of the study, said: “People often encounter coffee-related cues, or think about coffee, without actually ingesting it…we wanted to see if there was an association between coffee and arousal such that if we simply exposed people to coffee-related cues, their physiological arousal would increase, as it would if they had actually drank coffee.”
Dr Maglio explained: “People who experience physiological arousal – again, in this case as the result of priming and not drinking coffee itself – see the world in more specific, detailed terms…this has a number of implications for how people process information and make judgements and decisions.”
The eggheads from Toronto have since moved beyond breakfast, and are expecting to see if this placebo effect also holds true to the universe of energy drinks.
