The dreaded time usually comes after lunch, when the food coma slowly enters your body, and the afternoon seems never-ending.
The health benefits of dark chocolate, which reportedly include boosting attention and alertness, can help those who often experience the afternoon blues, according to a new study.
Following the results of the recent study, which was published in the journal NeuroRegulation, researchers have developed a new recipe that may heighten the health benefits of dark chocolate and also lower blood pressure. according to the U.K. publication The Daily Mail.
“A lot of us in the afternoon get a little fuzzy and can’t pay attention, particularly students, so we could have a higher cacao content chocolate bar and it would increase attention,” study researcher Larry Stevens, a psychological sciences professor at Northern Arizona University, said in a statement.
Researchers studied 122 people between the ages of 18 to 25, who brain activity was measured after they consumed a 60 percent cacao chocolate, a 0 percent cacao chocolate, a 60 percent cacao chocolate that had L-theanine, sugar water and regular water added to it, according to Yahoo Health News.
The health benefits of dark chocolate, particularly the increased alertness and ability to concentrate, were reportedly found in the participants that consumed the 60 percent cacao chocolate.
Through the study, researchers have also reportedly found that L-theanine can be used to “lower blood pressure and produce alpha waves in the brain that are very calm and peaceful.”
“People don’t generally eat chocolate and think it’s going to be healthy for them,” stated Stevens.
“The potential here is for a heart healthy chocolate confection that contains a high level of cacao with L-theanine that is good for your heart, lowers blood pressure and helps you pay attention.”
