A popular saying these days goes something like “happiness is a warm mug of coffee,” and few people out there would disagree. Coffee has become far more than just a necessary morning pick-me-up; cafes are the site of endless work hours, first dates, and Friends memes. Coffee on its own may seem like a bitter substance imbibed with the sole purpose of keeping you awake, but it does a lot more than that, and can in fact be an antidepressant of sorts.
If you’re not a morning person, then you already know that coffee can have a positive impact on your mood and make you feel more adept at dealing with the day at hand. The following are some concrete reasons as to why coffee can help uplift your mood, and explain why we’re so attached to it.
It Battles Depression
If you are prone to feeling down in the dumps, then you probably already know that coffee helps you feel better immediately. Part of it is the placebo effect of having something warm and comforting in your hands. The other part is that coffee contains substances that help make it a bonafide mood booster. Many medical professionals believe that caffeine helps to block receptors that react to stress, and since stress and depression are mostly linked, drinking coffee is one way to soothe the terrible effects of feeling down. In fact, it’s been shown that people who consume higher levels of caffeine were shown to have a lower risk of depression.
You Become More Alert
Of course, coffee helps to wake you up on those mornings you have to get up way too early and feel groggy. The smell of coffee brewing is enough to perk you up, and drinking a cup will definitely have an impact on your mental alertness. A mug of coffee has at least one hundred to two hundred milligrams of caffeine, which of course helps you become alert. Although, it pays to be careful since it can also have an impact on your anxiety levels.
In all cases feeling more alert and in tune with your surroundings can uplift your mood as a result. The one caveat is that if you’re super sleepy or spent too much time partying the night before, then one cup of coffee won’t necessarily take you far – it might even make you feel woozy. But, moderation is key.
Coffee Can Affect Your Hormones
Yes, the caffeine in coffee has an impact on your hormones, and in a positive way. According to several studies, it seems that within just a few minutes of ingesting a cup of coffee, it immediately hits your metabolism and gets you going. It also boosts adrenaline levels into your system, which gives you a temporary boost in your mood and helps you feel more energetic. Although, an excess of adrenaline – especially through the consumption of inordinate amounts of caffeine – can have the opposite effect, leaving you feeling fatigued. But, just the right amount of coffee can perk you up and leave you feeling energetic, happy, and somehow comforted as opposed to jumpy and upset.
Another reason accounting for the positive effect coffee can have on your mood is that it helps to increase dopamine levels in your system, which makes you feel good for short bursts of time. Given that coffee is a substance that is metabolized fairly quickly, its effects can be felt on your body right away underscoring that tenuous sense of wellbeing.
The Aroma Affects Your Brain
We mentioned briefly that the distinct coffee scent has a profound effect on your senses, and can help wake you up right away. But, there are other ways in which the popular drink affects your brain, too. This is because it contains heterocyclic compounds that have been known to influence the complex aroma, which hit scent receptors early on, triggering other sensory data points such as positive feelings and even fond memories we may hold. It’s a scent that definitely wakes you up right away since it hits the brain directly.
This is why so many products are made with coffee scents – candles, deodorants, gourmand perfumes, body scrubs, and lotions, and other things you can buy on the market are advertised as possessing this distinctive aroma. Even people who don’t like the taste of coffee love its unique scent – few things in life can arouse so many positive feelings. Except, perhaps, for freshly baked bread, but that’s another story.
Long story short, drinking coffee can be a pleasurable experience, and far more than just a way to stay up late working or studying. The ceremony of brewing a cup first thing in the morning is an important ritual to have and is in and of itself calming. But, as any died in the wool coffee lover will tell you, a properly brewed cup is a special experience, one that they look forward to every day.