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My wife is conducting a study at the University of the West of England into the effects of energy drinks on mental and physical performance.
She needs 20 cyclists to take part, full details below. Essential requirements, able to attend UWE in north Bristol on up to six occasions, be fit not fat, a non-smoker and aged between 18-28.
[b]Please email her at karina.stewart@uwe.ac.uk[/b]
The small print:
Participants should have a body mass index of 21–25 kg/m2 and you must be caffeine tolerant. You will be screened to check your suitability for participation initially, and before each testing session.
The study will be carried out at UWE by Drs Chris Alford and Gary Christopher (Psychology), Rob Prince and Karina Stewart (Physiology). There will be an initial introductory session for participants to undergo screening and try out the equipment. For both exercise and cognitive tests this session may take around three hours. We will need to know some basic details about you (contact details, age and gender etc.) and you will need to fill in medical screening and consent forms.
If accepted, you will be asked to return for up to five sessions: three for physical performance tests and twice for mental performance tests. During the period of the experiment we will ask you to keep a diary of your food intake and exercise, particularly in the period immediately before testing. Our aim is that you should come into the tests as near as possible in the same condition. This means trying to have the same food and fluid intake, and the same amount of exercise/sleep etc. We will carry out the tests first thing in the morning and we will provide you with a 'standard meal' of dried fruits and water before asking you to perform the tests (NB. you must not consume anything else (other than water) in the 12 hours before the test).
The tests will be conducted about a week apart:
Physical tests:
1. In the first test you will be screened and we will measure your performance (‘VO2max’) on a cycle ergometer. This test normally lasts about 12-18 min and is a measure of your fitness. We will push you to your limit to find out what workload you can tolerate. We expect this session to take 1.5-2 h to complete.
2. You will be screened again and 40 min before the second test you will be given an energy drink. We will then ask you to cycle a set distance at a moderately high workload. The distance should take about 1 h to complete, but you will be encouraged to finish in as short a time as possible (we will measure how quick you are). your fitness. We will push you to your limit to find out what workload you can tolerate. We expect this session to take approx. 3 h to complete
3. The third test is the same as the second, but with a different energy drink.
Cognitive performance tests:
1. As with the exercise test you will be given an energy drink before carrying out the cognitive performance tests, which are expected to take about 2.5 h to complete.
2. The second test is the same as the first, but with a different energy drink.
Things we will measure:
• Caffeine (in samples of your saliva).
• Alcohol and nicotine content (using breathalysers).
• Height, weight, and percentage body fat and body water.
• Blood sugar and lactate (using a pin prick test from the earlobe).
• We may take a small urine sample to check that you are properly hydrated and to look for nitrogen as a measure of your protein metabolism.
• Heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, O2 intake and CO2 output will be monitored continuously during exercise tests.
• We will ask you to rate your level of perceived exertion during exercise.
• The cognitive tests will be computer or paper-based and will assess: reaction times, memory, alertness, mood and information-processing ability.
After the experiment has finished, you may have a copy of your own data and, as a thank you, participants will receive a one-off payment of up to £150. All data will be stored using a code and no personally identifiable information will be made available to any third party (unless required by law).
Damn, too old again
😥
not fat & age between 18-28.. wrong website mate 😉
Yeah, funny that I don't qualify either 😆
She assures me this isn't just a ploy to select a 'newer model' to trade me in for..
I could do with a large can of monster right now to increase my mental alertness as i'm close to falling asleep at my desk. That could also be because i'm over the hill at 31 though.
I feel so old.
I'm only 29. 😐
Another one here for the to old cat......
I'm a 38 yr old in a 28 yr old body......
And the mind of a 19 yr old.
and i need help with rent and have stuff to sell
WOOHOO first to qualify, 19 and going strong, apart from the being in aberdeen bit, i would have done it.
Oh - i thought this was going to be one of those threads where you had a great idea to knock out Guinea pigs with a sedative, then mail them special delivery to yourself with insurance cover of £150 then once the guinea pig awakes and knaws its way from the pakaging in a sorting office somewhere and a few days later the obviously damaged and empty pacel arrives to your adress you claim on the postal insurance. So it's not one of those threads then? I'll just be off to feed some valium to my own rodent then - good luck with your plan, mine sounds more scientific.
LOL!!!
that is an amazing idea!!!
LOL!!!
that is an amazing idea!!!
which is? Posting a sedated hamster? or using a 'university study' to find a toy boy?
I'm too old, too fat and have no desire to ever do a VO2 max test every again in my life.
Too old here too 😐
email sent. i could do with some more beer tokens.
Also too old.. Phew! Last VO2 max test I did I went a bit too hard and blacked out just before the end... ouch. I still have the scar where my head hit the ground when I fell off...
FWIW, the unis would be good places to start though I presume that she's already done that (or just doesn't fancy a student 🙂 )
£150 for a Guinea Pig, only paid £6 for my daughters 😉
our guinea pigs definitely have a fat index >100 - maybe i should make the porkers walk to Bristol!
Note the payment of "Up to" £150.
That'll be £1:99 and a voucher for 1 free Red Bull, then.
Im the right age.... but im tooo fat! Amazing, I love BMI scales! I have a BMI of 27ish, IF i had a BMI of 21 i think I would be dead or wrongly skinny! Surely most FIT athletes have an above average BMI due to muscle mass etc?
Oh well... tooo much beer at uni means I cant play!
too old gutted! (why the restrictive age range btw?)
BMI's a crap measure if you don't fit the average build and height. Even when I was seriously fit and pretty skinny, being 6'5" and 15 stone (lots of muscle from doing weights for rowing), I had a BMI just over 25 which is technically overweight...
Why the age range and BMI criteria?
Good question, I'll ask and get back to you.
Age range is as wide as possible but they have to try and pick people from a controlled group. Ditto BMI.
Damn, I thought I'd have a go, until I realized that the 19 minimum age was physical rather than mental. I guess that counts my sorry 54 year-old carcass out, then... 
I'm perfect, and I'd be so up for that, but I left UWE last year 🙁
£150 for a Guinea Pig, only paid £6 for my daughters
wow, kids are cheap these days
As above BMI a poor measure and fat people can also be fit. Obese people on the other hand tend to be not fit.
I fall into the too old camp 😕
BMI only tends to make 'fit' people appear overweight in sports where a lot of muscle bulk is involved, cycling's not one (with the possible exception of track racing - my quick calculation shows Chris Hoy having a BMI of 26.5, overweight), if anything cyclists are often light.
Re the debate re BMI, its been pointed out to me that the reason for asking for people within a set range is because it means their bodies will have a 'similar'ability to metabolise the drink. Obviously the detailed testing will give a far more accurate assesment of 'fitness'...
Thanks for all the interest so far. Someone mentioned contacting the local Uni's - we have, and the local road clubs. Still places available though.
I remember Dr Stewart teaching me Immunology. A very nice/supportive lecturer.
I'm not in Bristol for a while so missing out being probed.
Hope the new project is successful.
Last chance 'bump', a few places are still available.
Andy