Coffee: a sniff as good as a sip?

New research from Japan has found that a sniff of early-morning Java could be just as effective at waking you up as taking a big old swig.

To aid the experiment, scientists got a bunch of rats and kept them awake all night. Personally, I’m wondering how, but that’s not the point of this story.

The sleepy rodents had reduced levels of mRNA, which are messenger molecules that indicate when a gene is being expressed. The lowered levels were found in eleven of the rats’ genes.

When they got a whiff of the lovely brown stuff, the rats’ mRNA was restored to near normal levels for nine of the genes, and rose to above normal levels for the other two. Pretty impressive, huh?

It’s not entirely clear if humans have the same expressed genes as rats, but apparently some of the genes are similar. Gene suppression may make people feel bad if they don’t have enough sleep, which explains why our sleepy heads just love the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

The research team at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology reckon their next experiment is to waft waves of coffee aroma into the air in factories, to keep workers alert.

Mmm!

Source: New Scientist