Carb mouth rinsing enhances brain oxygenation 🧠
How carb mouth rinse actually works.
Oral carbohydrate sensing enhances prefrontal cortex oxygenation, reduces perceived exertion, and improves high-intensity cycling performance: A randomized crossover trial
Study Details
This new study recruited 11 trained cyclists to complete three conditions…
1️⃣ carb mouth rinse
2️⃣ placebo mouth rinse
3️⃣ music (120 bpm)
…prior to assessments of brain oxygenation, cognitive performance and RPE post 4-km cycling time trial (TT) 🚴
Key Findings
Compared to both music and placebo, carb mouth rinsing led to significantly enhanced…
🧠 Bilateral prefrontal cortex oxygenation (post-intervention and post-TT)
⚡️ Cognitive performance (post-TT)
⏱️ TT completion time
💥 Power output
💨 Mean speed
RPE was also lower in carb mouth rinse vs placebo, and lower than music at mid-trial 📉
👉 There was a significant association between brain oxygenation and cognitive performance
Conclusion
Carb mouth rinse enhances oxygen delivery to the brain and preserves executive function 🥤
This leads to reduced perceived exertion and improved performance ✅
There is a central neurocognitive mechanism that underpins the ergogenic effect of carb mouth rinsing 🧠
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42118778/
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