Mocha Lattes Might Have More Benefits Than Plain Old Coffee

Mocha lattes might help you focus and reduce your anxiety.

While caffeine alone can increase anxiety, adding chocolate to the mix reduces the effects and help your attention span overall, which is good news for students who need to focus.  

A study done by a group or researchers from Clarkson University and The University of Georgia found that cocoa increases cerebral blood flow, which increases cognition and attention. The study ran for almost a year on a group of 24 people. The researchers had them drink different beverages like brewed cocoa, cocoa with caffeine, caffeine with cocoa and a placebo without caffeine of cocoa. After, they were asked to do tests that judged their cognitive tasks and mood.

The study found that people who drank the cocoa made fewer errors and when caffeine was introduced into the mix, their cognitive effects were enhanced. However, more research needs to be done on it, as the sample size was relatively small.  Also, the research was sponsored by Hershey’s — so there’s could be a cocoa-centric bias.

But, if the research is sound, this could be good news for people who are fans of the indulgent drink. Caffeine is great on its own, but chocolate definitely makes it even better.