The first cup of coffee for java lovers doesn't actually boost alertness, British researchers say following a study of 379 volunteers who were given caffeine or a placebo.

"That kick in alertness we get from our first coffee or tea in the morning is in fact just the removal of the fatiguing effects of caffeine withdrawal, which occurred from overnight abstinence," said study author Peter Rogers of the department of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.

The post-caffeine levels of alertness among frequent consumers were no higher than among non-consumers who received a placebo, the researchers found. The finding suggests caffeine only brings coffee drinkers back up their normal baseline level or alertness but no higher, the researchers said in Wednesday's issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

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