Hydrogen Water Boosts Focus Better Than Caffeine in Sleep-Deprived Adults
- Authors
- Nikola Todorovic, Dragana Zanini, Valdemar Stajer, Darinka Korovljev, Jelena Ostojic, Sergej M. Ostojic
- Journal
- Food Science & Nutrition
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1002/fsn3.2480
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Serbia
- Health Condition
- Sleep Deprivation
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water (HRW) improved attention and brain activity in sleep-deprived coffee drinkers without causing side effects, similarly to caffeine.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water improved attention and processing speed in sleep-deprived people as effectively as caffeine, while producing distinct changes in brain metabolism.
Summary
This study tested whether hydrogen-rich water could help people stay alert and focused after being awake for 24 hours. Sixteen young adults who regularly drink coffee were given either hydrogen-rich water, caffeine, a combination of both, or plain water, then took tests measuring attention and mental processing speed. Hydrogen-rich water improved performance on these tests similarly to caffeine, and brain imaging showed changes in brain chemistry and metabolism after drinking it, with no side effects reported.
Practical Takeaway
This small, short-term study suggests hydrogen-rich water may help maintain mental focus during acute sleep deprivation and could offer an alternative to caffeine, though the findings are preliminary and limited to a single dose in young, healthy coffee drinkers. More research in larger groups and over longer periods would be needed to confirm whether these benefits apply more broadly or persist with regular use.
Abstract
AbstractThe main aim of this randomized‐controlled cross‐over interventional trial was to assess the acute effects of taking a single dose of hydrogen‐rich water (HRW), and compare it with caffeine, HRW plus caffeine, and control water, for alertness, brain metabolism, brain and oxygen saturation, and self‐reported adverse events in healthy men and women who were habitual coffee drinkers and were sleep‐deprived for 24 hr. Sixteen apparently healthy young adults (8 men and 8 women; age 24.0 ± 3.5 years) were allocated in a cross‐over design to receive a single‐dose drink of HRW (8 ppm), caffeine (50 mg), HRW plus caffeine, or control drink (tap water) in the morning after 24‐hr sleep deprivation and 12‐hr fasting. The primary and secondary outcomes were assessed at baseline (pre‐intervention) and 15‐min follow‐up. Significantly less time was needed to complete trail‐making test after both HRW and HRW plus caffeine compared with the control drink (p < .05). The number of errors in the symbol digit modalities test was significantly lower after drinking HRW or caffeine than control drink (p < .05). Both HRW and caffeine significantly increased the choline‐to‐creatine ratio in several brain regions (frontal white and gray matter), while HRW and the combination intervention also affected brain metabolism in the paracentral brain. No participants reported any side effects from any intervention. The attention enhancement driven by HRW appears along with changes in brain metabolism. Being generally recognized as a safe intervention, hydrogen could be thus recommended as a novel intervention that upholds attention in stressed conditions, with its metabolic footprint likely different from caffeine.