New Research Shows That Tea Can Help You To Focus

Tea can make a difference

Had a bad day, fancy a chat with friends or really need to crack that tricky problem? What do you do? Put the kettle on of course.

We've always known that tea gives us a certain something that helps us through, but it's always been hard to define exactly what's so special about it. Until now...

New research carried out at Unilever's Beverages Global Technology Centre could help us understand why taking time out for a cup of tea is beneficial and makes such a difference.

They have established that a normal cup of PG tips tea typically delivers 22mg theanine.

Every cup of tea naturally contains the amino acid theanine. Tea is virtually the only dietary source of theanine, apart from the edible bay boletes mushroom, which explains why sometimes only tea will do.

The effects of 50mg theanine - the amount present in 2-3 cups of PG tips tea is known* to stimulate alpha brain waves which are associated with being relaxed yet alert. Alpha activity is thought to be important for the ability to focus attention.

Unilever explored this relationship further in the context of a typical PG tips brew - the new study indicates that the leaves found in our normal everyday cuppa, may improve ability to focus.

The study found that people who drank two cups of PG tips tea were not only faster but also more accurate at performing tests that measured their ability to focus attention. The odds of a correct response on one test of attention were increased by 40%.

The Unilever research has been supported by a number of independent scientists including Louise Dye, a reader of psychology at Leeds University:

“There are a number of studies (published and unpublished) which examine the effects of theanine ingestion on psychological outcomes which suggest that regular tea consumption over a period of hours may maintain relaxation, focused attention and accuracy. Theanine may modulate the more acute effects of caffeine such as found in coffee."

Whereas coffee offers a stimulant from caffeine, tea is the only drink that naturally contains both caffeine along with the less common effects of theanine. The level of caffeine in tea is also much lower overall than brewed coffee (approximately half in an average sized cup).

Kate Hick, PG tips tea Brand Manager says: "Until now the brilliance of the brew has been an unsolved mystery. We know that Britain loves PG tips; tea is a real 'nation’s favourite', but we really wanted to understand the unique effects felt by tea drinkers.

We've invested a lot of time and energy in really getting to grips with what makes tea so special when it’s really so simple – just tea leaves, water and sometimes milk."

The PG tips Study The PG tips study was carried out by scientists at Unilever on healthy volunteers who consumed 2 cups of PG tips tea made with pyramid tea bags.

The volunteers performed computerised tests that measured their ability to focus attention. This is the ability to ignore distracting information and is synonymous with concentration.

In the laboratory, it is measured by presenting more than one piece of information at a time, but with instructions to process and respond to only one.

After drinking PG tips tea, there were significant improvements in both the speed and accuracy of their performance.