Bulletproof Coffee drinkers! We have some exciting news for you!

There is an upcoming study on Bulletproof Coffee and we thought you would like to participate! Yoni Donner, Professor Stephen Kosslyn at Stanford University and Quantified-Mind, are studying the effects of Bulletproof coffee vs regular coffee on cognitive performance.

I’m assisting in recruiting participants for their coffee study. Participation is optional. For the first 100 people who complete the study, you will receive a free bag of Upgraded beans.

Edit:  When you submit the form, do not expect an e-mail confirmation.   An e-mail will be sent next week with further instructions on how to prepare the coffee and other information.

EDIT: In order for your results to be considered complete, you have to complete the study within the restrictions given to you by the researchers.  Make sure you do the two daily sessions at roughly the same time every day, and try not to miss any days. If you must skip days, make sure you don’t miss more than two sessions overall.

Before signing up for the study, please read the following:

Background

Please read this form carefully before deciding whether to participate in this study.

Purpose of the study

This study will identify effects that “bulletproof coffee” has that are different from the cognitive effects of coffee alone. Bulletproof coffee is brewed with beans that are low in mycotoxins and biogenic amines and blended with grass-fed butter. While coffee alone is known to affect cognitive functions, we would like to examine the additional benefits that the special beans and butter added.

What you will do in this study

When you sign up, an e-mail will be sent to you with instructions about when to drink coffee* (this will be sent next week), the regimen and a participant code. You will need to purchase Starbucks Dark Roast coffee, Bulletproof Upgraded Coffee, and grass-fed butter. You will be sent a coupon code for 1 free bag of Upgraded coffee, including shipping if you are one of the first 100 to complete the study. To conduct the cognitive testing, you will be asked to sign up at the website www.quantified-mind.com. On your “Tests” page, you will need to click “New Experiment” and enter your participant code to officially join the study. You will only need to do this once. You do not need to fill in any identifying details on the Quantified Mind site besides your email address for authentication purposes.

Once you have signed-up and used your participant code at Quantified Mind, you will need to pick a time of day to consume your coffee. You will have to test yourself twice: the first time 1 hour after consuming the coffee and the second time 3 hours later. For example, if you choose 9:00 a.m. as your coffee drinking time, you will have to test yourself once at 10:00 a.m. and again at 12:00 p.m. Additionally, you will need to pick a way to brew your coffee. This is important because you will need to brew your coffee the same way throughout the study.

To test yourself, brew a cup of coffee following the coffee consumption regimen. 1 hour later, log in to www.quantified-mind.com and complete the “Bulletproof Coffee Study” on your “Tests” page. 3 hours later, repeat the aforementioned procedure. The tests should take 10 minutes each, for 20 minutes total. Before taking each of the tests you will be given a chance to practice as much as you like.

You will repeat the procedure described above on 8 separate days, following your coffee consumption regimen. The first 100 people to successfully complete the 8 test sessions, will receive a coupon for a free bag of Upgraded Coffee, including shipping.

You will have the opportunity to ask the investigators questions about the study, both during the study and after its completion.

Risks/Benefits

There are no anticipated risks associated with participating in this study; the benefits are: (1) a description of our research and hypotheses at the end of your participation; (2) learning about your own cognitive response to bulletproof coffee; and (3) a free bag of upgraded coffee if you are one of the first 100 people to complete the study.

Confidentiality

Your participation in this study will remain confidential, and your identity will only be stored in a secure machine together with the data, and will not be revealed to the investigators or anyone else. The data will be analyzed anonymously and in aggregate.

Participation and withdrawal

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time without penalty by simply informing the investigator that you no longer wish to participate.

Investigators

This research is being conducted by Yoni Donner and Professor Stephen Kosslyn, Stanford University, 75 Alta Road, Stanford, CA 94305. If you have any questions, please email yonid@google.com.

Whom to contact about your rights in this research, for questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints that are not being addressed by the researcher, or research-related harm: Michelle Bayly, PhD, Human Subjects Coordinator, Department of Psychology, 450 Serra Mall, Jordan Hall, Bldg 420, Room 100, Stanford,CA 94305-2130. Phone: (650) 736-9993.

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