A coffee against depression

Studies show that one in five women may have lifelong depression. However, more recent research brings hope to those who suffer from depression but do not refuse a good daily coffee.

Coffee consumption and depression in women

The study was conducted at Harvard School of Public Health and analyzed for a decade the coffee consumption of more than fifty thousand women. The results showed that women who drank less coffee were also the most depressed. On the other hand, women without signs of depression consumed a regular amount of caffeine.

According to the survey, women who drank between two and three cups of coffee a day had a chance of suffering depression reduced by up to fifteen percent. It is also estimated that women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day could have these chances reduced by up to twenty percent.


However, this effect of coffee on women is only associated with caffeine-containing drinks. According to research, decaffeinated coffee does not change a woman's chances of suffering from depression.

Unfortunately, the study only points out that there is an association between coffee consumption and the low propensity to have depression in women. There is still no evidence that drinking coffee daily necessarily decreases her chance of getting the disease.

Coffee May Decrease Chances of Suicide

Earlier research identified a relationship between regular coffee consumption and a certain reduction in the risk of suicide. This further reinforces the results of recent research by the Harvard School of Public HealthAfter all depression and suicide also have a strong connection.


Another interesting fact related to depression and coffee drinking is that some women who have depression also suffer from insomnia and anxiety, which makes them drink even less coffee.

Therefore, experts believe that it is too early to prescribe coffee consumption as a treatment against depression, because it is not yet clear whether depressives drink less coffee because they are depressed, or if they are depressed because they drink less coffee.

However, looking from an optimistic perspective, coffee invigorates the energies and gives more courage to face the day. Therefore it is believed that drinking coffee regularly is good, but it is not necessary to overdo it. Migraine sufferers, for example, know that coffee can trigger a crisis. So, don't start drinking a pint of coffee a day, drink moderately and delight in the benefits of coffee consumption.

IBRO Congress - Caffeine against depression, with Rodrigo Cunha (February 2024)


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