Science Recently Delivered This Shocker: Morning Coffee Improves Mood

"For four weeks, researchers from the University of Warwick and Bielefeld University tracked 236 young adults, pinging their phones seven times daily to ask whether they'd had any caffeine in the past 90 minutes and how they were feeling at the moment. Combined, the resulting 28,000 mood snapshots clearly indicated that caffeine doesn't merely combat grogginess, it actively makes people happier and more enthusiastic."

"The good mood feelings were especially apparent in the morning, within the first 2.5 hours after waking. Meanwhile, caffeine's effects on negative feelings, such as sadness, were smaller and less consistent throughout the day. The team attributed the positive mood effects to caffeine's natural ability to block adenosine receptors, which can increase dopamine activity in key brain regions. The phenomenon has been linked to improved mood and greater alertness in numerous previous studies."

"In the study, published in August in Scientific Reports, the researchers also analyzed how changes in mood may differ among people who consume different amounts of caffeine. "We were somewhat surprised to find no differences between individuals with varying levels of caffeine consumption or differing degrees of depressive symptoms, anxiety or sleep problems," Justin Hachenberger of Bielefeld University said in an announcement of the publication. "The links between caffeine intake and positive or negative emotions were fairly consistent across all groups.""

Scientists tracked 236 young adults for four weeks, pinging phones seven times daily to record recent caffeine use and current mood, producing 28,000 mood snapshots. Caffeine use correlated with increased positive mood, happiness and enthusiasm, especially within the first 2.5 hours after waking. Effects on negative emotions such as sadness were smaller and less consistent across the day. The positive effects were linked to caffeine blocking adenosine receptors and boosting dopamine activity. No meaningful differences emerged across habitual caffeine consumption levels or among people with depressive symptoms, anxiety, or sleep problems. Researchers noted the possibility that benefits might reflect relief from overnight withdrawal.

Read at Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine