Peppermint effect on the human´s reaction time

How does the amount of peppermint effect a human’s reaction time?

PurposeI know that sometimes during test’s teachers might give you peppermint or you are allowed to chew mint gum. I had heard that it was supposed to help with different area’s like reaction time, memory, and physical strength. I wanted to investigate whether or not that was true and if the amount would effect your reaction time.

Background researchA study found that peppermint increases alertness, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure. It suggested that oxygen gets to your brain easier and quicker because of the increase in blood pressure and in oxygen saturation in the blood. Smelling peppermint had a different effect than tasting it but not by much. It increased grip strength, overall strength, respiratory rate, other physiological parameters, and vertical and long jump. It helps but IBS, Cold’s, and the Flu. It is an essential oil, it improved people's fine motor skills. When it was smelled memory improved slightly and the test subjects vigor improved. When tasted the effects were similar but were more significant. Another study by Danica Collins found that the test subjects were more alert, more motivated, and less irritable.

Procedure1. Gather all needed materials2. Have half of the participants eat one peppermint candy3. Have them try to start and stop the stopwatch as fast as possible and record the times.4. Have them try to get the time as close to 10 seconds5. Have the other half of the participants eat two peppermint candies and repeat steps 3 and 4

Materials-StopwatchPeppermint Candies

By: Peggy MothershedMy Hypothesis-The more peppermint a person is given the faster their reaction time will be.

My Data

Reflections-My hypothesis was correct, people's reaction times did get quicker when the amount of peppermint was increased. I think that my results were accurate though the times would have changed a little based on the people you tested. Maybe different types of peppermint candies would have also changed how much the test subjects times changed. The data does prove that peppermint could help in certain sports or other different daily situations.

Analysis-After collecting the data I can conclude that peppermint does improve reaction times. The amount of peppermint also affects reaction times. When I was testing the subjects I noticed that the people who received two peppermint drops seemed more focussed than the people who received one. Peppermint does also seem to have an affect when smelled but the effect wasn’t as intense as when it was ingested. Overall eating peppermint had an effect on reaction time and the more peppermint you ate the quicker your reaction would be.

Fun facts-Peppermint candy contains menthol, iron, copper, calcium, vitamins A and C, and omega 3Greeks recognized Peppermints health benefitsPeppermint oil is antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiseptic, and antispasmodic