What is better for working memory: a cup of coffee or aerobic exercise?
Who: University of British Columbia and Western University (go Canada!). There was 29 non-caffeine users (< 30mg caffeine/day) and 30 caffeine users (> 150mg/day). The subjects were 18-40 years old and either undergraduate students, graduate students or employed individuals.
What: Tested the effects of an acute bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive performance (working memory) and compared it to cognitive performance after consuming caffeine. Researchers also did a phase II of this study where they took the caffeine users and did a 12-hour deprivation test - then they randomly put the participants in a caffeine read ministration group or aerobic exercise group. In phase II the researchers wanted to test whether the exercise bout or the caffeine administration would help decrease the withdrawal effects more efficiently.
Why: To determine if the previously reported cognitive benefits of exercise is comparable to the known cognitive benefits of caffeine.
Results: Acute aerobic exercise AND caffeine administration offered comparable improvements on the working memory tasks for both the caffeine users and non-caffeine users. In regards to phase II, the administration of caffeine significantly reduced the reported caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Aerobic exercise also helped to reduce the caffeine withdrawal symptoms but it was not a significant reduction.
My thoughts: Read ALL research critically - new information is exciting but it’s important to not get distracted by certain sentences within the paper before reading it in its entirety. For example, check out this news article that makes it seem as though all findings were significant and that for caffeine users, their cup of coffee should always be skipped! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I want to challenge us to always be asking questions - don’t settle for anything you hear without digging in to it further. I think that using caffeine and aerobic exercise TOGETHER may be an excellent option for improving cognitive performance, but if you want to avoid the rabbit hole of caffeine withdrawal symptoms then maybe just stick to the exercise :)
click here to read the full research article