
Coffee – would you be able to live without it? Well, I have to confess that I am thoroughly addicted. Seriously, I think I would marry coffee, if coffee were a person. It is that good. It is life changing.
What Happens When You Drink a Cup of Coffee?
Well, as you all probably know, coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine (C8H10N4O2) is quickly taken up into your body and you should feel its lovely effects in about 15 minutes. Hopefully, you should start to feel more energised and your mind should become a bit more attentive.

One of the reasons why this occurs is because caffeine is a stimulant. This means that it can enhance the neural networks in your brain that cause you to feel alert or awake. It even can stimulate some parts of the brain responsible for pleasure. So, maybe, that is why I want to marry coffee.
What Have Scientists Recently Discovered?
Well, there are many studies investigating the effects of caffeine. Some indicate that coffee may be bad for you. But lets not focus on the negatives – here are some studies that show how coffee can improve your life!

- It literally can make you happier: A study by researchers at Harvard University found that women who drank two or three cups of coffee have a lower risk of depression compared to non-coffee drinkers. Just recently, another study by Harvard School of Public Health, found that drinking 2 to 4 cups of coffee a day could cause a significant reduction in suicide risk.
- It might make you live longer: In 2012, researchers found that women drinking at least 2 cups of coffee a day reduced their chance of dying by 15%.
- It improves your driving: Another study found that drivers who drank 200mg of caffeine made significantly less “lane violations” than those who did not take caffeine.
- It might even help you loose weight: There is evidence that if you drink at least 50mg of caffeine you can increase your resting energy expenditure in 30 minutes. This is supposed to last for up to 4 hours!
- It improves your ability to exercise: Researches investigated the effects of giving 100mg of caffeine to professional cyclists and found that having caffeine delayed fatigue.
References
- Belza A, Toubro S, Astrup A. The effect of caffeine, green tea and tyrosine on thermogenesis and energy intake. European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition [serial on the Internet]. (2009, Jan), [cited August 12, 2013]; 63(1): 57-64. Available from: Academic Search Complete.
- Freedman N, Park Y, Abnet C, Hollenbeck A, Sinha R. Association of coffee drinking with total and cause-specific mortality. The New England Journal Of Medicine [serial on the Internet]. (2012, May 17), [cited August 12, 2013]; 366(20): 1891-1904. Available from: MEDLINE with Full Text.
- Hogervorst E, Bandelow S, Schmitt J, Jentjens R, Oliveira M, Gleeson M, et al. Caffeine improves physical and cognitive performance during exhaustive exercise. Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise [serial on the Internet]. (2008, Oct), [cited August 12, 2013]; 40(10): 1841-1851. Available from: CINAHL.
- Lucas M, O’Reilly E, Pan A, Mirzaei F, Willett W, Ascherio A, et al. Coffee, caffeine, and risk of completed suicide: Results from three prospective cohorts of American adults. The World Journal Of Biological Psychiatry: The Official Journal Of The World Federation Of Societies Of Biological Psychiatry [serial on the Internet]. (2013, July 2), [cited August 12, 2013]; Available from: MEDLINE with Full Text.
- Philip P, Taillard J, Moore N, Delord S, Valtat C, Sagaspe P: The effects of coffee and napping on nighttime highway driving: a randomized trial . Ann Intern Med 144 785-791, 2006.
Originally published by Scientific Scribbles, The University of Melbourne, 08.13.2013, free and open access, republished for educational, non-commercial purposes.