Are Sugar Rushes Real?
Let’s see how many parents disagree with the science on this, which is thoroughly settled
The idea that gobs of sugar triggers some sort of energy rush—causing children run around like blithering idiots or adding some serious pep to adult steps—is one of those ideas so ingrained in the culture that it must be true. Right?
Whether it’s kids supposedly amped up on birthday cake or your own otherwise health-conscious self sneaking a candy bar to ward off afternoon sluggishness, the science just doesn’t support the popular wisdom.
In fact, as a testament to how long this myth has been around, scientists debunked it rigorously way back in the mid-1990s. “Sugar does not affect the behavior or cognitive performance of children,” they wrote in the journal JAMA. “The strong belief of parents may be due to expectancy and common association.”
In other words, if kids do run amock, and they’ve had cupcakes, parents are apt to blame the cupcakes.
Plenty of debunking research
In a more recent analysis, in 2019, researchers reviewed data from 31 separate studies involving nearly 1,300 adults, looking for the effects of sugar on mood and alertness. Their conclusions: Sugar has “virtually no effect on mood,” regardless…
