benefits of drinking coffee

Coffee and Depression | How Coffee Improves Mental Health

Coffee Decreases Mental Health Issues

Here we have discussed and identified some factors on, How coffee helps us to decrease mental health issues. So stay with us and read the post. Let us know what is your thought?

1. Coffee and Depression – Caffeine has positive effects on depression

Medical studies (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270202.php) of the relationship between caffeine intake and depression, particularly when consumed in coffee, often show that caffeine can reduce the incidence of depression. Some even go so far as to suggest coffee and depression are so interrelated that caffeine could reduce the incidence of suicide.

Studies carried out in China between 1980 and 2015 found that caffeine-related depression was relatively low, affecting less than 1 percent of people in all cases.

coffee and depression woman covered in coffee beans

The studies also showed that the risk of depression as a result of caffeine intake actually fell when individuals increased their daily intake of caffeine.

The researchers concluded that consumption of caffeine and coffee significantly decreased the risk of depression.

Another analysis of 12 studies(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mnfr.201500620) looked at the relationship between caffeine and depression, in 346,913 individuals and 8,146 cases of depression. The study concluded that caffeine, particularly in coffee, had a protective effect in preventing depression.

 

This study also found that Cappuccino, with its lower caffeine content per cup, was less protective in preventing depression, but still effective to some extent.

coffee and depression hands holding a cup of coffee - close up

2. Coffee to help anxiety?

Conventional wisdom suggests that caffeine-containing drinks are considered a “no-no” when it comes to anxiety. There’s a good reason for this and for many people with anxiety, they should avoid coffee. But, some of you reading this may benefit from coffee. Let’s review the information about coffee in terms of anxiety and mood to see what makes the most sense.

Read More: 5 Unbelievable Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee When You Wake Up.

For some, the positive mood effects of coffee lie in caffeine’s ability to increase the senses of euphoria and energy, which I personally found it did for me years ago in my personal history with anxiety and panic attacks in my early 20’s (I’m now 47). I found in certain situational anxiety I used to have, coffee actually made me less panicky.  I didn’t know why I just knew when I drank it, I felt less anxious and happier.

Interestingly, it turns out there was a reason for that: caffeine helps the brain releases dopamine into the prefrontal cortex, a brain area important for mood regulation. Caffeine may also help the storage of dopamine in the amygdala, another part of the brain important for anxiety regulation.

In depression research, coffee is clearly helpful. In a ten-year cohort study of more than 50,000 older women, investigators found that compared with those who drank one cup or less of caffeinated coffee per week, those who drank two to three cups per day had a 15 percent decreased risk for depression, and those who drank four cups or more had a 20 percent decreased risk.

I know this may sound counter-intuitive to many of you reading this, but for the right person, it may also help situational anxiety and panic attacks because it can raise levels of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter of feeling in love for the first time. It is also important in feeling happy, motivated, and rewarded about something (versus scared).

Coffee and depression hands holding a cup of coffee - close up

Dopamine is typically low in people with depression as well as social anxiety(a type of situational anxiety). If you experience either of these, coffee every day, or before the situation of stress/panic, may improve your mental health. Of course, if you try the coffee and find that it makes you feel worse and more panicky and anxious and/or you stop sleeping, then it is not the right beverage for your mood and situation.

Read more: 7 Ways Coffee can Increase Weight Loss

coffee sets the blood in motion and stimulates the muscles; it accelerates the digestive processes, chases away sleep, and gives us the capacity to engage a little longer in the exercise of our intellects – Honoré de Balzac

As the most well used psychoactive drug of all time, coffee is an interesting compound, with generally positive reviews regarding health and mood. Regarding overall health, studies show some wonderful health effects for coffee.

Coffee can decrease a pre-diabetic risk for diabetes, lower incidence of bile tract and liver cancer, and even help prevent heart attacks after a meal. In fact, a 2013 review of the larger epidemiologic studies show that regular coffee consumption can reduce mortality, both for all-cause and cardiovascular deaths. Brand new research by Guercio suggests it can help prevent the recurrence of colon cancer. In addition, coffee intake is associated with lower rates of heart failure, stroke, and diabetes.

Young man with depression sipping on his coffee

3. Coffee actually helps you manage stress and depression

According to a study by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26056314) conducted by scientists from Portugal, the US, and Brazil, is still pretty preliminary, and since it was done in mice we can’t quite say how it’ll pan out in people. But it does contain some surprising findings.

For their paper, the researchers looked at the effects of caffeine on mice subjected to different stressors, such as cold baths and having their cages tilted. For three weeks, while one group of mice was given caffeine in their drinking water, the other simply drank regular water. Then they were subjected to the stressors.

Results showed that mice who drank plain water exhibited stress-induced changes in their brains and behavior, such as acting helpless and performing worse on memory tests. But the mice who drank caffeine didn’t show any of these changes. The researchers can’t say for sure why that is, but they hypothesize that it has something to do with caffeine blocking certain receptors from causing a stress response (stress responses in humans can include bad moods and depression).

Scientists have long suspected that caffeine boosts mood. Several studies, in fact, between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of depression (as well as a lower risk of suicide). Other researchers have said, however, that they weren’t sure if it was the caffeine specifically or the rituals associated with consuming it — say, greeting your favorite barista or perusing the news while you sip your latte.

This study suggests that it’s the caffeine itself that helps us cope with stress and puts us in a better mood.

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