Does adding sugar to coffee improve memory and attention?
According to a foreign media report, a new Spanish study published in the journal "Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental" found that drinking coffee with sugar is beneficial for the brain and can improve memory and attention span.
Scientists at the University of Barcelona in Spain discovered that consuming caffeine and sugar together is more effective at improving brain efficiency than consuming caffeine alone or sugar alone. Caffeine and sugar can mutually enhance each other, improving brain functions such as attention span and working memory.
Researchers gave 40 participants sugared coffee, unsugared coffee, sugar, or plain water, and then performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on their brains. Comparing the results, the study found that drinking a cup of sugared coffee in the morning is the best way to cope with a busy day.
The researchers analyzed that, on one hand, caffeine has a stimulating effect that can activate the brain and combat drowsiness and fatigue. Multiple early studies have found that drinking three cups of coffee a day can significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, with the key mechanism being that caffeine triggers a series of chain reactions in the brain that prevent brain tissue damage. On the other hand, glucose is one of the primary "fuels" necessary for normal brain cell function.
The new study found that caffeine and sugar can complement and promote each other, more effectively enhancing cognitive brain function. The researchers tested the participants' attention span and working memory using standard tests and simultaneously conducted MRI scans on their brains. The results showed that after drinking sugared coffee, activity in the bilateral frontoparietal cortex and the left prefrontal cortex of the participants' brains significantly decreased. These two brain regions are responsible for attention and memory, and the reduced activity in these areas indicates that the brain is working more efficiently.