Coffee Helps Women, Not Men, Handle Stress

, (BRISTOL, U.K.) -- Coffee has been known to help battle drowsiness, but a new study has found that a cup of Joe can also help women - not men - perform in stressful situations.

Psychologists at Bristol University have discovered that a caffeinated cup of coffee can actually increase a woman's ability to perform in a high-pressure situation, while it causes men to actually work slower and less confidently.

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Science, studied 64 men and women who were given a variety of tasks and were told they would have to give a public presentation on their tasks. Researchers found that men who had consumed caffeinated coffee had an "impaired" ability to perform their tasks while women who drank coffee completed their tasks 100 seconds faster. 

Study researchers said the fact that the effects of coffee in these situations vary by sex is likely due to the differences in how men and women respond to stress.

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