Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day may improve your mental health.
Previous research has shown that drinking coffee offers
Daily coffee drinking and mental health outcomes: Sex differences and the role of caffeine metabolism genotypes - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032725024346
Two to three cups of coffee a day may protect your mental health
https://www.psypost.org/two-to-three-cups-of-coffee-a-day-may-protect-your-mental-health/
Psychology-focused media outlet PsyPost points out that early research projects on coffee and mental health often involved small sample sizes or only captured snapshots at a specific point in time. They also note that classifications of coffee, such as decaffeinated coffee, instant coffee, and ground coffee (regular coffee), were rarely made.
In this study, a research team led by Bertie Lupin Song of Fudan University in China analyzed the impact of coffee consumption and type on the risk of mood and stress disorders using data from the UK Biobank , a large-scale cohort study in the United Kingdom. The research team also wanted to know whether coffee type, consumption, and individual gender and genetic makeup influence the relationship between coffee and mental health.
The research team tracked 461,586 adults aged 40-69 as subjects, after excluding individuals diagnosed with mood disorders or stress disorders at the time of registration from data of approximately 500,000 people in the UK Biobank. At the start of the project, subjects answered questions on a touchscreen device such as 'How many cups of coffee do you usually drink per day?' and 'What is your favorite type of coffee (decaffeinated, instant, or regular)?'
Participants were followed for an average of over 13 years, and their diagnoses of mood disorders such as depression, and stress disorders such as severe anxiety disorders, were examined from hospital records nationwide. During the follow-up period, 18,220 new mood disorders and 18,547 new stress disorders were recorded.
In addition to this data, the research team adjusted the mathematical model to account for external factors such as the subjects' age, biological sex, ethnicity, education level, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, exercise level, and tea intake. Furthermore, they incorporated underlying medical conditions such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, as well as genetic scores that divided participants into groups with fast and slow caffeine metabolism, to investigate the relationship between coffee intake and mental health.
The analysis revealed a curvilinear relationship: as coffee consumption increased from zero, the risk of developing mental health problems decreased, then bottomed out at a certain point, and after that, the risk of mental health problems increased again as consumption continued to rise.
Specifically, those who drank two to three cups of coffee per day had the lowest risk of developing mood disorders and stress disorders. However, it was reported that when coffee intake exceeded five cups per day, the protective effect on mental health disappeared, and the risk of developing mood disorders began to increase.
The research team investigated different types of coffee and found that instant coffee and regular coffee showed almost identical trends, with drinking 2-3 cups a day protecting mental health. However, there were clear downsides to drinking large amounts of regular coffee, with those who drank 5 or more cups a day having a higher risk of mood disorders than those who didn't drink coffee at all. On the other hand, decaffeinated coffee did not show a clear association with mental health, suggesting that caffeine or some related factor influences the results.
Other findings include that the protective effect of moderate coffee consumption is stronger in men than in women, and that differences in caffeine metabolism speed do not affect the results. Furthermore, analysis of blood biomarkers by the research team showed that coffee drinkers tend to have lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood, and that
The research team believes that coffee contains over 1,000 different chemicals, including antioxidants, and that their interactions suppress inflammation and protect nerve cells in the brain. They also noted that while moderate amounts of caffeine can help regulate mood and alertness, excessive consumption can stimulate the secretion of stress hormones such as cortisol , potentially making it harmful to drink more than five cups a day.
The research team has pointed out several limitations to this study. First, this study only investigated the relationship between coffee consumption and mental health, and did not prove a causal relationship between coffee consumption and improved mental health. Other limitations cited include the fact that coffee consumption was based on self-reported data from the participants, that the caffeine content of the coffee was not strictly measured, and that coffee consumption habits may have changed during the follow-up period. The fact that the majority of the participants were Caucasian and resided in the UK is also cited as a limitation.
Nevertheless, the study's findings suggest that moderate coffee consumption may improve mental health. PsyPost stated, 'At this point, the study suggests that the habit of drinking a moderate amount of coffee daily fits well into a healthy lifestyle. Enjoying two to three cups of coffee a day may be a small bulwark against the stresses of modern life.'
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