Short-Term Psychological and Physiological Changes Following Coffee Aroma Exposure: A Multimodal Assessment

Background/Objectives: Coffee aroma has been associated with psychological and physiological responses, although these responses have often been examined separately. This exploratory study used a multimodal approach to assess subjective mood, electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV) following short-term coffee aroma exposure. Methods: Twenty healthy adults aged 20-29 years participated in a single-group, within-subject pre-post study and were exposed to coffee aroma for 5 min. Mood was assessed using the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Pre- and post-exposure measurements were compared using paired t-tests, with Holm adjustment for the six POMS subscales. Effect sizes, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and exploratory cross-domain correlations were also examined. Results: Total Mood Disturbance decreased following exposure (mean change = -20.54, 95% CI: -30.65 to -10.43; Cohen's dz = -0.95). After Holm adjustment, Fatigue, Tension-Anxiety, Confusion, and Depression-Dejection remained significantly reduced. The EEG-derived relaxation index increased (mean change = 0.0378, 95% CI: 0.0248-0.0508; dz = 1.36). No statistically significant changes were detected in HR (dz = 0.19) or HRV (dz = 0.13). Exploratory cross-domain analyses identified no significant associations among individual changes in subjective, cortical, and cardiovascular measures. Conclusions: Short-term coffee aroma exposure was followed by changes in subjective mood and an EEG-derived index, whereas no significant cardiovascular changes were detected. Multimodal assessment may provide complementary information regarding psychological and physiological changes following coffee aroma exposure, although controlled studies with larger samples are required.