People swear they can’t function or wake up without drinking their morning cup of joe, but it’s possible they’re getting that caffeine buzz without drinking the coffee itself.
“Smelling coffee gives rise to the beverage's psychoactive, arousing effects,” marketing prof. Eugene Chan, at Monash’s business school, said in a press release. “Enough for us to obtain the same arousal sensations without consumption.” “Walking past your favourite café, smelling the odours of coffee grounds, or even witnessing coffee-related cues in the form of advertising can trigger the chemical receptors in our body,” he said.Researchers exposed 871 participants to coffee and tea-related cues by having them come up with advertising slogans for the drinks or by creating mock news stories about the drink’s benefits.
The team also found the cognitive-altering effects of coffee were more prevalent in western cultures, where researchers believed coffee is “more popular and has connotations related to energy, focus and ambition.”