The Effects of Different Doses of Caffeine on Attention and Cognitive Reaction Time among Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Students

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effects of different doses of caffeine on attention and cognitive reaction time among UPSI students. Thirty habitual drinkers of caffeine were voluntarily participated in this study. They were assigned into three groups namely one control group (water) and two treatment groups (65 mg caffeine and 130 mg caffeine). Every group was instructed to complete the Eriksen Flanker Task after 20 minutes of drink consumption to measure attention and reaction time. The results showed that there were significant differences observed for attention (P=0.003), congruent reaction time (P=0.001) and incongruent reaction time (P=0.049) between control and treatment groups. To conclude, this study proved that caffeine could increase attention and cognitive reaction time among habitual caffeine users.