Coffee is pretty much the most popular morning drink in the world. People believe that caffeine wakes them up, makes them more alert and ready to go on with their day. And it is true – coffee does give a bit of a boost.
However, scientists now think that it also improves your vision. Researchers at the University of Granada and the University of Waterloo found that caffeine improves people’s visual acuity.
Caffeine seems to improve people's visual acuity, which means people see small details better and can detect details in dynamic conditions. Image credit: Martin Schibbye via Wikimedia (CC-BY SA 4.0)
Visual acuity is basically sharpness of vision – ability to detect and recognize small details, both stationary and moving. It is absolutely important in your daily life, because it helps you notice small details in your work, as well as while driving or crossing an intersection. Missing some details in your field of vision can sometimes be a huge safety risk, which is why improving visual acuity is very important. And, as this new study showed, coffee can do that.
Participants of the study were divided into two groups. On two separate days one group ingested placebo, while the other one took a caffeine capsule (4mg/kg). Then participants had to partake in a computer-based test, which assessed their dynamic visual acuity skills. This was done before ingesting caffeine and 60 minutes after. Although caffeine was taken in a pill form, the amount of caffeine ingested was chosen to reflect on people’s coffee habits and, therefore, results should be fairly representative to what can be expected in your casual morning routine.
Participants in the caffeine group enjoyed significantly greater accuracy and faster speed when identifying smaller moving stimuli. Their eye movement velocity and contrast sensitivity were greater. In fact, scientists expected that, because previous studies have shown that caffeine increases the velocity of rapid-eye movements. However, what’s new is that caffeine enhances visual processing and actually allows us to see small moving details better. And it should be beneficial to us in our everyday lives.
Dr. Kristine Dalton, co-author of the study, said: “Our findings show that caffeine consumption can actually be helpful for a person’s visual function by enhancing alertness and feelings of wakefulness. This is especially true for those critical, everyday tasks, like driving, riding a bike or playing sports, that require us to attend to detailed information in moving objects when making decisions”.
Scientists are still debating whether coffee is actually good for you in the long term. It depends heavily on personal health condition, coffee drinking habits and even the type of coffee. However, it does seem that coffee carries some benefits, including boosted visual acuity. Of course, this effect only lasts till the caffeine boost dies down, but it may make a difference in those foggy mornings.
Source: University of Waterloo