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6 Mental Health and Wellbeing Benefits of Coffee

Being full of Beans – My Relationship with Coffee

Psychology of Coffee - a cup

Having a mid-morning break to indulge in a beautiful Italian coffee makes my day. It’s not just the great atmosphere of the Al-Dente café with the mixed chatter of different languages and the morning sunlight streaming through the windows – although that counts too.

So I was reflecting on the psychology around my mid-morning coffee break and wondering about what makes us enjoy it so much, and whether it really is as beneficial as it feels?

So here is the research: Your coffee break does indeed gives you great mental health benefits. To explore the key ways coffee can positively impact your psychological well-being, we need to delve a little into the field of neuropsychology – but we’ll keep things simple:

You become more Alert

Meerkats looking alert - metal wellbeing and caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant. It acts upon the brain and the central nervous system where it blocks the effects of adenosine a sleep-inducing chemical  So instead of feeling sleepy, you then feel more alert and energetic.

Your Cognitive Function Improves

Cognitive Function and coffee drinking - image of neural network hair.
Because coffee interferes with the blocking effect of adenosine, caffeine also impacts other neurotransmitter systems in the brain causing dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine to be released in bigger quantities. It is these neurotransmitters that give you enhanced cognitive performance. So 45 minutes post your Americano you tend to feel mentally a bit “sharper”.

Your Mood Tends to Rise

Sunrise in the mountains-metaphor of mood rising.

Caffeine boosts your mental well-being. It is the flow of dopamine, a “happy” brain chemical that tends to make you positive and want to engage with the world. Great stuff if you happen to be in a friendly café drinking your cappuccino.

You Get Less Depressive

Happy Teddy - caffeine stimulates dopamine in brain.
Low dopamine levels in your brain can make you feel moody, tired and unmotivated, among other symptoms. As we now know caffeine stimulates dopamine production, so having more dopamine helps you to lift your depression.

You Benefit from Mind-Body Links

Zen - metaphorical representation of calm mood "rocks"!
Health body- healthy mind is certainly true. And there are a wide range of physical health benefits from drinking coffee. Recent studies quoted atJohn Hopkins University found that coffee drinkers have reduced risk from a heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and colorectal cancer, Alzheimer’s and dementia. If you want to get stronger DNA, it apparently even helps that too!

You Tick Over Better

Clock metaphor depicting ticking over more efficiently.
Effectively, you become more efficient. That’s particularly the case if you schedule a time for a coffee break as it allows you to set time boundaries around tasks. We can only focus for limited periods on a task so creating a time boundary is very helpful to work up to, then…ahh, break for coffee, decompress, and then refocus.

Do I drink too much coffee for good mental health?

Can you drink too much caffeine? The answer is yes! However, the good news is that for a standard person your morning cup of coffee is not going to push you over any limit and coffee is very widely drunk around that world and is considered relatively safe. There is no agreed amount of caffeine but research indicates that 4-6 cups of coffee per day is seen a moderate use whilst the DSM5 – the guide the Americans use for psychological disorders – defines overuse of caffeine as more than 400 mg per day, which is about 5 cups of strong home-brewed coffee.

Is Caffeine Good for Everyone?

Caffeine, however, may not be for everyone – especially if your “jeans” don’t fit! No, nothing to do with skinny latte – some people simply can’t drink coffee as it causes them undue anxiety. This has been linked to a difference in a small number of people’s ADORA2A gene which regulates adenosine, the brain chemical we spoke about earlier which acts on your central nervous system. So yes, if you have an existing anxiety or serious mental health or psychiatric condition, or notice that you get quickly anxious on drinking coffee – a herbal tea would most certainly be a better choice!

Scientifically, is Coffee Good or Bad for my Mental Wellbeing?

So looking through all of the research on this, from a psychological perspective there really is a very sound scientific reason to feel great every time I enter Fabiano’s café for my mid-morning, very Italian coffee experience.

Scientific Research on Caffeine & Mood

Alsene, K., Deckert, J., Sand, P., & de Wit, H. (2003). Association between A2a receptor gene polymorphisms and caffeine-induced anxiety. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28(9), 1694-1702.

Lara DR. Caffeine, mental health, and psychiatric disorders. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20 Suppl 1:S239-48. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-1378. PMID: 20164571.

Lisa Klevebrant, L., Frick, A., (2022). Effects of caffeine on anxiety and panic attacks in patients with panic disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol 74, 22-31.

A_COMPREHENSIVE_REVIEW_ON_PHARMACOLOGICAL_POTENTIALS_OF_CAFFEINE

Ken McLeish is Principal Therapist at Reflexions Counselling and Therapy in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Reflexions provides counselling and therapy for a range of issues including relationship counselling. He can be contacted through the website: https://counselling-newcastle.co.uk .

Information contained in this blog is not a substitute for face-to-face therapy. It can only every be one view of a situation and may not be applicable to your situation. The work here is a personal view which may change over time and should not be taken as representative of Reflexions Counselling and Psychotherapy. These resources cover a range of perspectives and approaches to counselling. Always remember to consult with qualified professionals when seeking advice specific to your situation.

Ken McLeish Psychotherapist, BA DMS MBA MSc MSc Cert Ed UKCP Reg
Reflexions Counselling and Psychotherapy