While
sipping a cappuccino or quaffing an espresso boosts women's
performance, the same drink impairs men's memories and slows down their
decision-making.
And
given that Britons alone down 70 million cups of coffee a day, the
implications are significant, reports the Journal of Applied Social
Psychology.
Psychologist
Lindsay St. Claire, Bristol University, who led the study, said: "Many
meetings, including those at which military and other decisions are
made, are likely to be male-dominated."
"Because
caffeine is the most widely consumed drug in the world, the global
implications are potentially staggering," said Claire, according to the
Daily Mail.
The
researchers wanted to examine what coffee does to the body when it is
already under stress, such as during a tense meeting. They recruited 64
men and women and put them in same-sex pairs.
Researchers found that men's performance in memory tests was "greatly impaired" if they drank the caffeinated coffee.
They
also took an average of 20 seconds longer to complete the puzzles than
those on the decaffeinated coffee. But women completed the puzzles 100
seconds faster if they had been given caffeine.
