{"id":372,"date":"2022-05-16T15:06:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T15:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/?p=372"},"modified":"2023-09-07T16:12:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T16:12:55","slug":"more-than-a-mood-booster-coffees-role-in-supporting-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/16\/more-than-a-mood-booster-coffees-role-in-supporting-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"More than a mood booster: Coffee\u2019s role in supporting mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By William \u201cBill\u201d Murray, NCA President & CEO<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, an important time to recognize that nearly 20% of Americans are believed to experience mental illness. Offering care, empathy, and support to ourselves, and others \u2013 and openly discussing mental health issues \u2013 are all important for our wellbeing.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no substitute for seeking help from professional healthcare providers and finding support from family and friends, but there\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0small steps we can take to support our mental health.\u00a0For example, there is a growing body of literature that recognizes the positive effects exercise has on anxiety, stress, and depression.\u00a0And yes, your daily cup of coffee can play a mood-boosting role in the short term.<\/p>\n

The\u00a066% of Americans who drink coffee each day<\/a>\u00a0probably already appreciate the mood boosting benefits of our favorite brew. In fact, evidence shows that coffee\u2019s mental health benefits go beyond that warm and fuzzy first-cup feeling.<\/p>\n

Studies have found that drinking coffee is associated with up to \u2153 lower risk of depression. An\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0of multiple third party, independent scientific studies conducted by former NCA Science Advisor and Harvard University neurologist Alan Leviton found that not only is drinking coffee associated with decreased depression risk, but that the greatest mental health benefits come from drinking at least two cups of coffee per day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of almost 10,000 adults studied in the\u00a0fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey<\/a>, those who drank at least 2 cups of coffee per day experienced a 32% lower prevalence of self-reported depression than people who did not drink coffee.<\/p>\n

In a study of 14,000 university students in Spain who continue to be followed, those who drank at least four cups of coffee per day were more than\u00a020% less likely to be diagnosed with clinically-significant depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While further research is necessary to determine the exact relationship between mental health and the more than 1,000 natural compounds found in coffee, the positive impact it has on mental health may be related to certain anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and microbiome-promoting properties \u2013 properties that are also associated with coffee drinkers\u2019 significantly reduced risk of developing\u00a0certain cancers and chronic diseases.<\/a><\/p>\n

Scientists think that some of coffee\u2019s natural compounds called phenols and melanoidins may have \u201cprebiotic\u201d effects \u2013 that is, they may help healthy gut bacteria produce fatty acids and neurotransmitters that benefit mental health.<\/p>\n

Whatever your moments of self-care look like, take time to check in on your own mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, please know you are not alone. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HELLO to 741741.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, call a friend, connect with family, find some quiet time away from all the devices, and enjoy a simple cup of coffee \u2013 which, it turns out, is more \u201camazing\u201d than \u201csimple.\u201d\u00a0After all, while you care about coffee \u2013 coffee cares for you, too.\u00a0What other beverage does that?<\/p>\n

NCA: We Serve Coffee.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Not sure if you\u2019re an NCA Member? Check our\u00a0<\/em>Membership list<\/a><\/em>. If you\u2019re not a member but could benefit from access to this research or other key industry resources, explore your\u00a0<\/em>Membership options<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By William \u201cBill\u201d Murray, NCA President & CEO May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":373,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tightrope-walk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}