Sugary Soft Drinks Bring More Sleep Than Energy

Anahad O'Connor, the New York Times short-answer man for questions about health and fitness, takes on the myth that sugary soft drinks can boost energy levels. Perhaps so, O'Connor tells us, but if they do, they don't do it for long. The Times cites a recent study published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology that gave group of healthy adults a 90-minute mental test after eating a small lunch on various days. On some days, about an hour after lunch, they drank a soft drink that had 42 grams of sugar and about 30 to 40 milligrams of caffeine. On other days, they drank a similarly flavored drink with no sugar or caffeine.The Times reports that with the high-sugar drink, the subjects’ test scores were lower and they had more delays in reaction time and lapses in attention. After a 15-minute rush of energy, they became tired and less alert.

Source: Sports Geezer, Nov 16, 2006.