Researchers from the University of Georgia (UGA) in the US found that 10 minutes of walking up and down stairs at a regular pace was more likely to make participants feel energised than ingesting 50 milligrammes of caffeine - equivalent to the amount in a can of soda.
"We found, in both the caffeine and the placebo conditions, that there was not much change in how they felt," said Patrick J O'Connor, professor at UGA's department of kinesiology.
The study aimed to simulate the hurdles faced in a typical office setting, where workers spend hours sitting and staring at computer screens and do not have time for a longer bout of exercise during the day.
For the study, participants on separate days either ingested capsules containing caffeine or a placebo, or spent 10 minutes walking up and down stairs - about 30 floors total - at a low-intensity pace.
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"And a lot of people working in office buildings have access to stairs, so it is an option to keep some fitness while taking a short break from work," he said.
Study participants were female college students who described themselves as chronically sleep deprived - getting less than six and a half hours per night of shut eye.
To test the effects of caffeine versus the exercise, each group took some verbal and computer-based tests to gauge how they felt and how well they performed certain cognitive tasks.
The study was published in the journal Physiology and Behaviour.
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