Can Sweet Tea Ease Tension?
July 10th 2010 22:58
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From: FOX & Friends
Sugary beverages like sweetened tea may help ease tension at work and make employees less argumentative. Australian researchers say the sugar provides a burst of energy that allows the brain to control impulses in stressful situations:
"Social psychologists at the University of New South Wales and Queensland University gave some participants lemonade with sugar in it and others lemonade made with artificial sweetener.
"The subjects were asked to perform a series of challenging tension-producing tasks before giving a presentation and then were provoked or criticized during their speeches.
"Those who had consumed the sugary lemonade were less likely to get angry than those who drank the artificially sweetened drink, according to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The authors concluded that those with real sugar in their systems performed better under pressure than those without it."
By Catherine Donaldson-Evans
Sugary drinks may help ease tension at work and make employees less argumentative, according to a study by Australian researchers.
The sugar in beverages like sweetened tea gives people bursts of energy that may allow the brain to control impulses and prevent them from reacting too quickly in stressful situations, the findings suggest.
Social psychologists at the University of New South Wales and Queensland University gave some participants lemonade with sugar in it and others lemonade made with artificial sweetener.
The subjects were asked to perform a series of challenging tension-producing tasks before giving a presentation and then were provoked or criticized during their speeches.
Those who had consumed the sugary lemonade were less likely to get angry than those who drank the artificially sweetened drink, according to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The authors concluded that those with real sugar in their systems performed better under pressure than those without it.
"When provocation is likely -- for example, when encountering a difficult supervisor at a work meeting -- drinking a sweetened beverage prior to this encounter might increase one's ability to effectively inhibit aggressive impulses," the U.K.'s Telegraph quoted study authors as saying.
The psychologists said their findings debunk sugar's bad reputation for causing glucose-fueled ups and downs that in turn can lead people to snap or act too spontaneously.
"Despite the widespread notion that glucose consumption can lead to a 'sugar high' resulting in impulsive behavior, our data suggest that glucose can increase executive control when provoked," they said. The brain needs glucose to trigger "executive control" -- including the ability to stave off impulsive reactions, they explained.
But California nutritionist Dr. Douglas Husbands said the Australian study is only part of the story.
"Having sugar could help with their cognitive thinking and control, and response to stress temporarily," Husbands told AOL Health. "It could improve their performance. ... But these things would be temporary fixes."
Better than reaching for a sweetened drink, said Husbands, would be eating a light snack of fruit and nuts three hours after a main meal. He suggests low-glycemic fruits like apples, cherries or grapes to avoid the sudden spikes and drops in blood sugar, and walnuts or Brazil nuts.
"The problem with using some quick fix like a sugary drink is you do get a high because sugar is used quickly by the brain and body," he said. "But you also crash, and that is not a good thing."
The researchers suggested their findings might apply not only at work but at home.
"Consuming a sweetened beverage on the commute home following a stressful day could reduce aggression toward family members or fellow drivers," the authors said.
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