Coffee and Psyche

Coffee Consumption and Mental Health

To avoid feeling overwhelmed during tough times or chronic stress, create small personal moments of happiness, such as with a delicious cup of decaf. If you need not only the moment of enjoyment but also a caffeine boost to overcome tiredness and a low mood, a cup of caffeinated coffee is fine for your body. When feeling down, your little coffee break becomes your mood-lifting guarantee. You feel the hot cup in your hand, smell the delightful, aromatic coffee scent, and taste the rich variety of flavors in a carefully prepared decaf, and you start to feel better.

Can Coffee Really Boost Your Mood?

Several studies have investigated the effects of coffee on the psyche and mood. It’s important to distinguish between mood and emotion. Mood is a persistent state, while emotion is a short-term event. Research has shown that drinking just one cup of caffeinated coffee a day can improve mood. This effect is attributed to caffeine.

Caffeine actually influences the release of serotonin, often referred to as the "happiness hormone." Serotonin is a hormone that regulates well-being and cognitive functions, such as memory, while also having a calming effect on the body.

Thus, caffeine can contribute to increasing the serotonin levels in the brain, similar to the way serotonin reuptake inhibitors (used as antidepressants) work. Caffeine also stimulates the production of acetylcholine, which supports the psychological mechanisms responsible for wakefulness and attention.

The positive effect of caffeine on mood depends on the level of internal restlessness or calmness. Highly balanced individuals are more likely to notice a mood change from caffeine than those who already have a certain level of baseline arousal. Therefore, it’s not only important to know how much caffeine is good for you, but also to consider your baseline mood when drinking coffee. This way, you can mindfully adjust your caffeine intake and enjoy all the health benefits of coffee without overdoing it.

How Long Does the Energizing Effect of Caffeine Last?

The caffeine in coffee is absorbed by the body within a maximum of 45 minutes. After that, depending on your genetic makeup, caffeine is metabolized at different speeds. The half-life of caffeine varies significantly, meaning that after about two and a half to five hours, half of the consumed caffeine is broken down. The CYP1A2 gene, commonly known as the "caffeine gene," determines your metabolism type. There are two variants— the "fast" and "slow" types. People with two copies of the "fast" variant are considered fast caffeine metabolizers, while those with one or two copies of the "slow" variant are considered slow metabolizers.

If you're curious about which metabolism type you belong to, various online providers offer caffeine sensitivity tests. Too much caffeine intake can lead to discomfort, shaking, nervousness, and anxiety, so it's important to monitor your caffeine consumption. To avoid caffeine overdose, drink your caffeinated coffee with a gap of about three to four hours. For additional coffee enjoyment moments, decaf can be your filler. It’s important to know your personal caffeine dose and switch to decaffeinated coffee before you experience any signs of discomfort. With decaf, you can enjoy coffee moments as often as you like without worry.

How Much Coffee Can Be Consumed Without Negative Psychological Effects?

Imaging studies have shown that caffeine is highly effective in displacing adenosine from receptors in the brain. A dose of 450 mg of caffeine, equivalent to approximately six cups of coffee (150 ml of coffee with an average caffeine content of 75 mg), is sufficient to block about 50% of the binding sites of adenosine receptors. It is believed that consuming more than this amount primarily leads to side effects such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, or tremors, but does not further enhance cognitive performance.

How Does Coffee Affect the Brain, and Is Caffeine Addictive?

Caffeine affects the brain differently than typical drugs. Amphetamines, cocaine, or nicotine stimulate the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, the brain region responsible for reward, motivation, and addiction.

Using various imaging techniques, scientists have identified the brain regions where caffeine is active. Functionally, caffeine, which chemically resembles the body's own adenosine, binds to adenosine receptors in the brain and blocks them. As a result, the signal for "tiredness" is no longer transmitted, allowing you to stay awake longer. Caffeine acts in several brain regions, such as the thalamus, which influences readiness to process information and regulates sleep. It also affects the hippocampus, where learned information is transferred from short-term to long-term memory, and the neocortex of the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex integrates content from different brain areas, stores new sensory impressions, and incorporates them into existing memory. Researchers believe that caffeine enhances attention and cognitive performance particularly in these regions.

From a medical perspective, caffeine cannot be considered addictive. Therefore, individuals prone to addiction need not worry. However, a physiologically measurable tolerance effect develops. This means that frequent coffee consumption alters the binding capacity of adenosine receptors, requiring higher caffeine doses over time to maintain its stimulating effects consistently.

Abstaining from caffeine can lead to withdrawal symptoms, which typically disappear within a few days. However, there is no risk of addiction as with drugs. Signs of caffeine withdrawal include:

• Headaches or migraines
• Low mood
• Extreme fatigue or exhaustion
• Irritability and mood swings
• Difficulty concentrating
• Reduced cognitive performance
• Flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, muscle pain)
• Heaviness in the arms and legs
• Depressive moods
• Anxiety related to sleep disturbances

Does Coffee Influence Brain Disorders and Diseases?

Neuroscientists are keen to find ways to cure or at least reduce the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, and the widespread condition of migraines.

Particular hope lies in Parkinson's disease. Numerous studies provide clear and well-established evidence that caffeinated coffee has a protective effect against the risk of developing Parkinson’s. Caffeine has been proven to inhibit the formation of harmful Lewy aggregates in the brain (abnormal protein clusters), thereby improving motor symptoms and reducing daytime sleepiness. A long-term study surveyed participants about their caffeine consumption habits, and the results showed that individuals with Parkinson’s had consumed less caffeine in the past than healthy participants.

Researchers have also made interesting discoveries about the risk-reducing effects of coffee on dementia and Alzheimer’s. Both regular and decaffeinated coffee exhibit protective properties. In general, the long-term memory of coffee-drinking patients showed improvements. Decaf contains diterpenes such as cafestol and kahweol, EHT (eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide), a specific tryptamine, and phenylindanes, which are produced during the roasting process of dark coffee due to heat exposure. Decaffeinated green coffee is believed to stimulate the brain's energy metabolism. Additionally, caffeinated coffee affects dementia and Alzheimer’s by increasing cerebrospinal fluid production and boosting the production of cytokines (signaling molecules) in the blood. Caffeine also reduces typical protein deposits, like Lewy aggregates, in the brain.

Due to its diverse sites of action in the brain, caffeine has a psychomotor-stimulating effect and may also improve conditions such as epilepsy, migraines, depression, and schizophrenia. Other beneficial effects of the antioxidants and polyphenols found in both decaf and regular coffee include protection against oxidative stress, as well as the antioxidative and anti-cancer properties of diterpenes.

How Does Coffee Affect Depression?

Being and staying mentally healthy is essential for your quality of life, performance, and social participation. Regular coffee consumption can help with this. Researchers have found that even one cup of coffee per day can increase attention, satisfaction, and mood. In healthy individuals, coffee, especially caffeine, appears to reduce the risk of developing depression. However, the protective effect of decaffeinated coffee on depression risk has not yet been clearly demonstrated. More research is needed to specifically examine the impact of decaf on depression risk. The numerous polyphenols found in both regular and decaffeinated coffee, such as chlorogenic acids and phenylindanes, may also have a positive effect on the nervous system.

With regard to the central nervous system and neurological processes, a daily coffee intake of three to five cups is associated with a lower risk of age-related cognitive decline. Coffee, particularly caffeine, has a positive effect on diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

Various coffee studies indicate that the positive effects of coffee on health and its neuroprotective properties are not solely attributable to caffeine. Other bioactive coffee components act independently, improving motor and cognitive performance in old age and in cases of depression. Coffee is one of the richest dietary sources of polyphenolic compounds. A 200 ml cup of coffee contains approximately 70–350 mg of antioxidant chlorogenic acid, depending on the coffee beans and preparation method. The caffeine content per 150 ml cup of coffee can range from 50 to 100 mg, with an average of about 75 mg per cup. Decaffeinated coffee contains less than 0.1% caffeine, but still retains the antioxidant power of its phenolic compounds. Polyphenols reduce oxidative stress, protecting nerve cells from damage that contributes to the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

Can Coffee Trigger Panic Attacks and Anxiety?

Do you avoid caffeine because coffee causes heart palpitations, sweating, restlessness, insomnia, or an undefined sense of anxiety? If so, switching to decaffeinated coffee may be a better option, as the absence of caffeine in your hot beverage can help you feel better. Studies have shown that individuals with certain genetic traits may develop anxiety symptoms or panic disorders after consuming caffeine. Whether someone reacts with increased anxiety to caffeine largely depends on their genetic makeup. Scientists have discovered a small variant in the gene of the adenosine A2A receptor, which is responsible for caffeine's effects in the brain and appears to play a key role in anxiety disorders.

However, if you have experienced anxiety symptoms after drinking coffee once, it does not mean this will always be the case. The brain can adapt to caffeine over time. Regular consumption of moderate to high doses of caffeine may reduce the genetic effect to some extent. Still, maintaining a mindful and caffeine-conscious lifestyle is the better approach to managing caffeine’s potential negative effects on the body, ensuring that you can enjoy coffee without worries.

To keep the stimulating effects of caffeine in check, mindfulness and caffeine awareness are recommended while drinking coffee. Decaf can help prevent caffeine’s negative effects, allowing you to savor your coffee moments more frequently without concern.

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