Subjects will perform experiments in an at home-setting. The effect of caffeine in coffee will be tested in subjects with computer tests on attention and alertness. Comparison of the results with published results from controlled experiments will indicate the effectiveness of home experiments.
There is increasing interest in the general public in measuring health parameters at home, instead of in a medical setting. Many tests for measuring health parameters are commonly available in drug stores as well as online. When structured, this trend may also be used for performing a randomized intervention trial. The current study is aimed to evaluate the procedure of performing a non invasive intervention study by subjects themselves performing the tests at home. The study is designed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, crossover study. Subjects have to consume a cup of coffee after an overnight fast. Coffee will be prepared from instant coffee containing either regular coffee or decaff coffee. Each intervention will be given twice. Effects on alertness and attention will be established by three computerized tests provided by Quantified Mind. The tests will be performed by the subjects at t=0 (baseline, prior to coffee consumption) and t=1h, one hour after coffee consumption, in one go. Each test will be performed during 5 minutes. During the training session the participants will be instructed to get acquainted with the task. The evaluation of the study concerns the effect of caffeine in the at home setting versus published results, as well as reproducibility of the results.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
70
Coffee is consumed before cognitive tests. One cup of instant coffee with 75 mg of caffeine or 0 mg caffeine and will be prepared with 150-200 mL of hot water.
TNO
Zeist, Utrecht, Netherlands
Evaluate at home tests with controlled tests in experiment in metabolic ward
Compare results of cognitive tests in an at home setting versus the results of cognitive tests in a controlled setting in a metabolic ward. Each test costs 1.5h; there will be four test days. This evaluation will partly depend upon the actual number of subjects completing the tests in this at home set-up.
Time frame: 1.5 hour
The effect of coffee with and without caffeine on alertness and attention
The effectiveness of the at home setting will partly be evaluated by the results found with the at home data on cognitive performance (reaction time (msec) and accuracy (% correct)).
Time frame: 1.5 hour on four test days
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