A Short Bouncy Walk Can Replace A Cup Of Coffee

A short bouncy walk can replace a cup of coffee

Brisk walking, even for only 20 minutes, can "invigorate" working memory in the same way as a morning cup of coffee. This was shown by a Canadian study published in Nature Scientific Reports. In addition, physical activity can reduce the negative effects of caffeine withdrawal, such as headaches, fatigue, and irritability.

Photo: CC0 Public Domain /

Brisk walking, even for as little as 20 minutes, can invigorate working memory in the same way as a cup of coffee in the morning. This was shown by a Canadian study published in Nature Scientific Reports. In addition, physical activity can reduce the negative effects of caffeine withdrawal, such as headaches, fatigue, and irritability.

Working memory is responsible for the temporary storage of information and work with it at a specific point in time. It turns on, for example, when you need to remember the phone number that was just named, and when comparing new knowledge and previously acquired ones.

The researchers compared the effect on working memory of one cycle of aerobic exercise (actually, 20 minutes of brisk walking) with one dose of caffeine (the equivalent of about one cup of coffee). They found that brisk walking has advantages over caffeine. The benefits of walking were comparable to those of caffeine, but had no side effects.

“Healthy people who drink two cups of coffee a day do not experience problems, which means that it does not negatively affect most of their physiological functions. However, for special groups of people, caffeine intake can be problematic and should be limited or reduced,”explained Anisa Morava, study co-author.

Caffeine is not recommended if you have anxiety disorder, muscle tremors, or pregnancy. People who drink more than four cups of coffee a day are also at increased risk of the negative effects of caffeine. Reducing caffeine dependence is difficult, but physical activity can make it easier.

“If people are experiencing withdrawal, brisk walking can reduce some of its symptoms,” said Anisa Morava.