The Placebo Effect ☕️

2023-04-03 · Short · Ali · recording, 0:55 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health, sleep and habits · mode: Explanation and tutorial · tags: Evidence-based framing, Aimed at students

In a Short, Ali describes a 2021 study of college students in which those who were given caffeine but told it was Adderall felt more alert and did better on memory tests than those told it was caffeine.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — A 2021 study of placebos, caffeine and Adderall in college students

★★ Ali describes a 2021 study of college students: one group took 200 milligrams of caffeine, about a normal cup of coffee, and another a caffeine-free look-alike; all the caffeine group and some of the placebo group reported more motivation and alertness. — 00:00:00
★★★ In the study's second part both groups were given caffeine, but the group told it was Adderall felt more alert and did better on memory tests: Ali says the expectation alone increased brain performance. — 00:00:29
★ Ali muses that it may be worth pretending your coffee is Adderall, adding that he doesn't know. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:29

In the description and comments

★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): The channel says the study comes from the Huberman Lab podcast episode "How to Increase Motivation & Drive". — creator comment

Mentioned

Central: placebo effect

Also: Adderall · caffeine

Only in the description or credits: Huberman Lab

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