Chocolate has been tempting the taste buds and used to boost moods for some time now, but a new study shows that it can improve test scores, too. No, chocolate does not make you smarter, it just helps you focus.
During the study, conducted by researchers at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, volunteers were given milk chocolate, dark chocolate, carob or nothing (control) and were then asked to complete a series of tests that looked at memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving skills. While flavors like peppermint have been shown to alleviate boredom, both dark and milk chocolate resulted in an increase in reaction time as well as in attention-span. Milk chocolate had a noticeably positive effect on memory. Such results are indicative that the positive effects can not only be attributed to the stimulants present in chocolate - caffeine, theobromine and phenethylamine - but might be caused by the nutritive composition of chocolate and the way it is absorbed by the body.
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