Abstract
We investigated the ability of nonalcoholic beer, a luxury item, in stress reduction using two psychophysiological indices: skin conductance level and heart rate. Ten undergraduate students participated in this study. After the exposure to stress by performing the Uchida-Kraepelin Performance Test for 7 min and a mental calculation for 3 min, the participants consumed two kinds of nonalcoholic beer, Kirin FREE and Asahi DRY ZERO, or water as a control for 1 min. Then, they were asked to relax by sitting still in a chair with closed eyes for 10 min. Based on the Russell and Lanius model of affective quality, both nonalcoholic beers exhibited high stress-reducing activity; however, water as a control did not exhibit the same. In addition, Kirin FREE beer showed higher stress-reducing activity than Asahi DRY ZERO beer. According to the questionnaire on the taste, the participants liked beer but did not like nonalcoholic beer. These results indicate that nonalcoholic beer has stress-reducing activity unrelated to the taste. The exact mechanism of the stress-reducing activity of nonalcoholic beer is unclear; however, a possible explanation is that the hop (Humulus lupulus) contained in both nonalcoholic beers is known to be a sort of herb and to have stress-reducing activity.
