A recent study of sleep-deprived rats found that the mere aroma of coffee reduced the neurological effects of the sleep deprivation. Specifically, when the rats were deprived of sleep for one day, the researchers noted reduced mRNA levels in their brains, and therefore suppression of 11 genes that are particularly important to brain function. Smelling the coffee resulted in restoration of the mRNA levels, and re-expression of 9 of the 11 genes. It’s not known whether the same mechanism is at work in humans, but we’re certainly all hoping so.
To learn more, see Effects of Coffee Bean Aroma on the Rat Brain Stressed by Sleep Deprivation: A Selected Transcript- and 2D Gel-Based Proteome Analysis, by Han-Seok Seo, Misato Hirano, Junko Shibato, Randeep Rakwal, Kyeong Hwang, and Yoshinori Masuo. (2008). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Jun 3.
Via New Scientist, with a nod to the Neurocritic.
