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CU • News & Events

A Hot Cup of Attention Tempered with Chocolate, Please

Release Date
Thursday March 2, 2017
Clarkson University researcher Ali Boolani (above) recently completed a study that explores the powers of cocoa and caffeine.
Clarkson University researcher Ali Boolani (above) recently completed a study that explores the powers of cocoa and caffeine.

Deep down, we always knew it, but science is proving that cocoa and caffeine are indeed the best marriage ever. Clarkson University researcher Ali Boolani recently completed a study that explores the powers of these two dark delights.

The assistant professor of physical therapy and physician assistant studies teamed up with colleagues at the University of Georgia to examine the “acute effects of brewed cocoa consumption on attention, motivation to perform cognitive work and feelings of anxiety, energy and fatigue.”

In a nearly year-long double-blind study, some lucky test subjects drank brewed cocoa, cocoa with caffeine, caffeine without cocoa, and a placebo with neither caffeine nor cocoa. Then they were asked to do tests to evaluate both cognitive tasks and mood.

“It was a really fun study,” Boolani says. “Cocoa increases cerebral blood flow, which increases cognition and attention. Caffeine alone can increase anxiety. This particular project found that cocoa lessens caffeine's anxiety-producing effects -- a good reason to drink mocha lattes!”

Before you envy the test subjects too much, bear in mind they had to work for the warm drinks. For example, they were asked to watch as letters flashed across a screen and note when an “X” appeared after an “A.” They also had to point out when odd numbers appeared sequentially, and they were required to do subtraction.

“The results of the tests are definitely promising and show that cocoa and caffeine are good choices for students and anyone else who needs to improve sustained attention,” says Boolani.

Here's the best news for the rest of us: The Hershey Company sponsored the research, so customers logically could see some new or enhanced products on the market as a result.

Boolani and his colleagues -- Jacob B. Lindheimer (War Related Illness and Injury Study Center - VA New Jersey Health Care System), Bryan D. Loy (Oregon Health & Science University), Stephen Crozier (The Hershey Company), and Patrick J. O’Connor (University of Georgia) -- have published a paper about the results of their study in the journal BMC Nutrition.

“I'll be doing some related and follow-up studies at Clarkson to look at differences in natural vs. synthetic caffeine, and other cocoa studies” Boolani adds. “I'm excited about them.”

Heads up. He'll be looking for more test subjects.

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


Photograph for media use is available at:
/sites/default/files/media/image/2017-06/aboolani-mocha.jpg

Photograph Size:
Width: 300px
Height: 222px

News directors and editors: For more information, contact Jake Newman, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6764 or jnewman@clarkson.edu.

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