An 11% faster brain.
Autumn is now here and with it colder temperatures that make us want to stay under a blanket drinking a delicious hot drink. Tea, coffee, latte, roiboos, hot chocolate, matcha… It’s not always easy to decide. According to researchers at the University of Birmingham, a particular drink could warm us up and at the same time increase our cognitive abilities. Enough to help us make our choice, right?
The scientists asked 18 healthy men aged 18 to 40 to breathe 5 percent carbon dioxide, about 100 times the normal concentration in the air, to test brain blood flow. They then analyzed changes in brain oxygenation levels in the frontal cortex of subjects who were asked to perform a series of increasingly complex cognitive tests.
Each participant underwent the test before and after drinking the famous drink which has the particularity of being rich in flavonoids and more particularly in flavanols, antioxidant compounds. In cognitive tests, researchers found significant differences in the speed and accuracy with which the volunteers completed the most complex tasks, with those who took the flavonoid-enriched drink completing the tasks 11% faster on average than those who did not. . According to the results published in the journal “Scientific Reports”, they had the highest levels of blood oxygenation.
“We can relate this to our findings on improving blood oxygenation; if you are challenged, your brain needs better blood oxygen levels to handle that challenge. This also suggests that Flavanols may be particularly beneficial during demanding cognitive tasks.” explained Dr. Catarina Rendeiro, lead author of the study. Flavanols are already associated with beneficial effects for cardiovascular health: they improve blood circulation, support vessel health and can even help lower blood pressure. Here, it is the cocoa flavanols which have shown their benefits on the brain.
The researchers actually carried out their study on a cocoa-based drink. It is therefore the famous hot chocolate (made with milk or water) which could boost our cognitive abilities. Previous studies have already shown that flavanols may help maintain memory and cognitive function as we age. They are also present in grapes, apples, berries and even tea.
