Mood, drinks and performance
by Katrina Kalleske
Do the beverages you drink determine how you feel at work? Does your mood dictate how many cups of coffee or tea you drink? Does the type of beverage you had yesterday, dictate what you drink or how you will feel today?
The answers to these questions are the focus of a new research exploration from School of Psychology researchers, Janet Bryan and Michelle Tuckey.
"What comes first - the beverage or the mood?" Dr Bryan asks. "There has been a lot of research about the effect of low levels of caffeine found in tea and coffee, on people’s performance, however the effect of a full range of beverages is somewhat unknown.
"I want to find out if what people drink in the morning, has an effect on how they feel in the afternoon. And if the types of drinks people have helps their performance at work."
Dr Bryan’s new research project has flowed on from her ongoing research into tea and cognitive performance, and how the different components of tea may affect people.
"Tea has three main active ingredients that are likely to affect performance and mood – caffeine, theanine and flavonoids.
"Within 30 minutes of having caffeine, people may feel more alert. Within one hour of having theanine, people may notice its combined relaxation and alerting effects. And within two hours of having flavonoids, a person’s blood flow to the brain should have increased, which can help with thinking, memory and mood.
"So these three ingredients may work together to account for tea’s ability to maintain work performance and engagement during the day."
Bryan and Tuckey’s study group will be university staff members who work at South Australia’s three universities - UniSA, Flinders University and the University of Adelaide.
"We chose to focus on university staff members because we know that their jobs require a lot of concentration," she said. "I am interested in finding out if the drinks they consume during the day have an impact on the degree to which they engage in work and on their mood.
"Staff who choose to participate will be given a 10-day diary to record what they drink, their mood, levels of work engagement and how they recover at the end of the day."
Participants will be asked to record their beverage intake and mood four times a day - before work; between starting work and lunch; between lunch and the end of work; and from the end of work to the evening.
Any SA university staff members who are interested in participating in this research or want to find out more, should contact Dr Bryan on 8302 4385 or 0418 808 910 or email janet.bryan@unisa.edu.au.