Tech Square Tests What Causes Accelerated Heart Rates on Valentine’s Day
Ah, Valentine’s Day – a holiday to celebrate all things that make your heart flutter – but we’re not just talking about love here. Many other things can affect your heart rate. Exercise, for instance, is a big one. Fear can also increase your beats per minute (BPM). And so can certain foods and beverages. To prove that romance isn’t the only thing to make your heart skip a beat, we decided to share some sweet treats – and test our tenants.
Just like Cupid with his bow and arrow, we spotted our targets by popping up at Centergy and Tech Square Research Building (TSRB) as people were heading out to and in from lunch. Upon being lovestruck by us, or as some may simply say, “approached,” we started our science experiment. First we took our community members’ resting heart rates. Then they chose between eating heart-shaped Dove chocolates or drinking an ice-cold Red Bull – both of which have plenty of caffeine and sugar. After consuming these tasty treats, we then measured their new BPM, to see if it increased any:
Despite some saying “love is blind” (season two is streaming now!), the data clearly showed us that our attendees favored chocolate over the energy drink and 45 percent of people experienced an elevated BPM after consuming the sweet treat! Even more interesting was that 27 percent didn’t experience any change, despite the caffeine and sugar. Speaking of, it would take four Dove chocolates to match the amount of sugar in one can of 8.4-ounce Red Bull. In general, 63 percent of our participants reported a higher BPM after consuming one of the two options!
Try the challenge for yourself and let us know your results in the comments below!