After munching your way through a chocolate bar, you might think you’re experiencing a ‘sugar rush’, but according to a new study this isn’t the case.
The study has revealed that ‘sugar rush’ isn’t a real thing, and that eating sugar actually worsens your mood rather than improving it.
Researchers from the University of Warwick, Humboldt University and Lancaster University set out to bust the ‘sugar rush’ myth.
The team collected data from 31 studies involving almost 1300 adults, investigating the effect of sugar on various aspects of mood, including anger, alertness, depression and fatigue.
Their analysis revealed that sugar consumption had virtually no effect on mood, regardless of how much sugar participants ate.
Conversely, people who consumed sugar actually felt more tired and less alert than those who didn’t.
Dr Konstantinos Mantantzis, who led the study, said: “The idea that sugar can improve mood has been widely influential in popular culture, so much so that people all over the world consume sugary drinks to become more alert or combat fatigue.
“Our findings very clearly indicate that such claims are not substantiated – if anything, sugar will probably make you feel worse.”