Double-blind placebo and active (caffeine) controlled study to examine the effects of the herbal nutritional supplement beverage "Wake up" on vigilance and function after lunch.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to assess whether caffeine (50 mg) and a herbal-based beverage ("Wake up") could counteract post-lunch somnolence and performance decline compared to a placebo.
Results Summary
Caffeine significantly improved alertness and performance 30 minutes post-consumption but led to performance deterioration and elevated blood pressure/pulse after 2 hours, unlike "Wake up," which maintained superiority over both caffeine and placebo at the 2-hour mark.
Population
30 healthy volunteers
Effective Dosage
50 mg caffeine (single dose)
Duration
Single-day intervention per condition (cross-over design)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wake up | increase | performance tests, subjective vigilance and effectiveness assessment | thirty healthy volunteers | - | significantly superior to placebo | #1 |
caffeine | increase | performance tests, subjective vigilance and effectiveness assessment | thirty healthy volunteers | - | significantly superior to placebo | #2 |
Wake up | increase | performance | thirty healthy volunteers | - | superior to both caffeine and placebo | #3 |
caffeine | decrease | performance | thirty healthy volunteers | - | performance had deteriorated | #4 |
caffeine | increase | blood pressure and pulse | thirty healthy volunteers | - | higher | #5 |
Wake up | no change | hemodynamic consequences | thirty healthy volunteers | - | no adverse hemodynamic consequences | #6 |
BACKGROUND: Post-lunch dip is a well-known phenomenon that results in a substantial deterioration in function and productivity after lunch. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether a new herbal-based potentially wake-promoting beverage is effective in counteracting somnolence and reduced post-lunch performance. METHODS: Thirty healthy volunteers were studied on three different days at the sleep clinic. On each visit they ate a standard lunch at noontime, followed by a drink of "Wake up," 50 mg caffeine, or a placebo in a cross-over double-blind regimen. At 30 and 120 minutes post-drinking, they underwent a battery of tests to determine the effects of the beverage. These included: a) a subjective assessment of alertness and performance based on a visual analog scale, and b) objective function tests: the immediate word recall test, the digit symbol substitution test (DSST), and hemodynamic measurements. The results of the three visits were compared using one-way analysis of variance, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In all performance tests, subjective vigilance and effectiveness assessment, both Wake up and caffeine were significantly superior to placebo 30 minutes after lunch. However, at 2 hours after lunch, performance had deteriorated in those who drank the caffeine-containing drink, while Wake up was superior to both caffeine and placebo. Blood pressure and pulse were higher 2 hours after caffeine ingestion, compared to both Wake up and placebo. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a single dose of Wake up is effective in counteracting the somnolence and reduced performance during the post-lunch hours. In the current study it had no adverse hemodynamic consequences.