World | Other World Stories
Just smell coffee to stay awake
Researchers found that the aroma of coffee helped restore brain activity in sleep-deprived rats to normal or near-normal levels.
- By John Bingham, - The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008
- Published: 00:01 June 14, 2008
Just the smell of coffee could be enough to wake us up in the morning, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that the aroma of coffee helped restore brain activity in sleep-deprived rats to normal or near-normal levels.
The finding, published in New Scientist, has led to suggestions that factory owners should pump the smell of coffee into the building to revive flagging workers unable to have a cup. A team of Japanese scientists took a group of 30 rats and deprived half of them of sleep for 24 hours.
Half of those kept awake were then exposed to the smell of roasted coffee beans - and showed almost the same level of awakeness as those not deprived of sleep.
More from Other World Stories
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Allies quit ruling coalition in Nepal
Political row could trigger months of street protests and violence
-
Qatar blaze 'started at nursery'
Fire killed 19 including 13 children, at Doha’s main shopping centre
-
Jagan jailed over illegal assets
Andhra Pradesh leader accused of corruption, cheating, conspiracy
