Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
If you’re looking for a midday pick-me-up to get back on track and regain focus on the task at hand, you might want to grab a piece of dark chocolate (or five), according to research published in a recent edition of the journal NeuroRegulation.
In the study, Northern Arizona University professor Larry Stevens and his colleagues explained that dark chocolate has a stimulant-like effect that can increase brain activity and make a person more attentive.
The research, which was sponsored by the Hershey Company (who else?), is said to be the first to probe the acute effects of chocolate on attention-related characteristics of the brain. It is also the first study of chocolate consumption to use electroencephalography (EEG) imaging scans to measure brain activity while a person is performing a cognitive task.
The higher the cacao, the higher the boost
In order to investigate claims that people consuming chocolate would experience an immediate stimulant-like effect, Stevens and colleagues in the NAU Department of Psychological Sciences conducted an EEG study with 122 participants ranging between 18 and 25 years old. We wish we could have been participants on this one.
They measured serving sizes of the samples based on the weight of the participant, and packed them in such a way that participants could not see what they were consuming. They used a 60 percent cacao confection and examined EEG and blood pressure levels of people who consumed the chocolate versus those who were members of five different control groups.
The researchers discovered that those who ate the 60 percent cacao chocolate had brains that were more alert and attentive shortly after consumption. Stevens said that a chocolate bar that is higher in cacao content could help students or employees focus in the afternoon.
Add green tea for a bonus effect
Furthermore, a 60 percent cacao chocolate that included L-theanine, an amino acid commonly found in green tea that acts as a relaxant, also produced some interesting results. Intended to serve as a control, this combination resulted in an immediate decrease in blood pressure, while chocolate without L-theanine caused a short-term increase.
“L-theanine is a really fascinating product that lowers blood pressure and produces what we call alpha waves in the brain that are very calm and peaceful,” Stevens said. “We thought that if chocolate acutely elevates blood pressure, and L-theanine lowers blood pressure, then maybe the L-theanine would counteract the short-term hypertensive effects of chocolate.”
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