This duo makes work easier

Heaviness, apathy, and doubt have undoubtedly accompanied you in your daily work more than once. Want to avoid this? Want to increase your productivity? Inhale the aromas of coffee and chocolate! Faster processing of visual information, fewer errors, greater accuracy, efficient task performance, and no signs of fatigue. American scientists have confirmed the beneficial effects of coffee and chocolate aromas on office productivity. What experiment confirmed the scientists' theses? Thirty participants were presented with a series of tasks related to office work. The volunteers were asked to:

• solve cognitive problems,
• type out a story as quickly and accurately as they can.

Volunteers were exposed to various odors. Sometimes, the aroma of coffee or chocolate was present (delivered via a low-flow oxygen tube inserted into the nose), and sometimes, the room was odorless (a so-called control condition). Which factors were observed in participants? Researchers tested:

• visual memory,
• ability to remember words,
• response time,
• impulsiveness.

How did the tests proceed? The office workers visited the laboratory three times. Each time, they completed three tasks. The test supervisors analyzed the statistical data, measuring the frequency of coffee and chocolate consumption and their preferences for their aroma and taste. In addition to task performance, participants also assessed their mood, workload, fatigue, and alertness. What are the effects of inhaling the scents of coffee and chocolate? Coffee increased typing accuracy and the speed of typing words per minute. Using the scent of chocolate increased impulse control. Furthermore, visual information was processed more quickly. What does this mean? Better adaptation of visual information translates to faster responses to stimuli. This is one step closer to completing office tasks faster and reducing the likelihood of making errors.