The double-edged sword of coffee consumption is that it will help you feel more alert and better able to handle the tasks ahead, but it can also make you jittery, which can heighten feelings of anxiety in high-stress situations for some individuals. But a new study finds that coffee may actually be beneficial during times of stress, which may then help mitigate depression and anxiety.
As reported by Best Life, the new study was recently published in the European Journal of Pharmacology. For it, researchers from China’s Chongqing Medical University examined how caffeine impacts stress exposure. To do it, researchers used mice and separated them into three different groups: one that received daily caffeine injections before taking part in a “chronic unpredictable stress paradigm,” one that underwent the stress tests without caffeine, and a third, uncaffeinated group that didn’t take part in the tests. Each group also underwent evaluations for behavior, body weight, gut bacteria compositions, and inflammation levels in the bloodstream and hippocampus.
Across all evaluated areas, the caffeinated group outperformed the uncaffeinated. The caffeinated group was better able to maintain body weight and mobility while also exhibited increased curiosity than the uncaffeinated group when give the opportunity to explore an open field.
And all biological markers were better in the caffeine group. The hippocampus exhibited lower inflammation levels than in the uncaffeinated group, which also showed a lower level of neuron growth proteins. And in the gut bacteria assessment, the uncaffeinated group “experienced several microbiota changes,” including an increase in the bacterial strain closely related to E. coli that causes diarrhea.
These findings all point to caffeine having a preventative effect on stress-induced depression and anxiety. By drinking coffee before stress events, one may be able to avoid the depressive symptoms they may cause.
The findings will need to go to through human trials before they can be confirmed, but the results are thus far positive. So good news for those who don’t get anxiety from drinking coffee, because it may have the opposite effect.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
