🔋Does Caffeine Make You Happy? (ATP#20)

Drumroll 🥁: We’ve made it to the 20th edition of the ATP newsletter! 🎉

To all my loyal and new readers: Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you’re getting a lot out of this newsletter! Remember that I’m always happy to receive your feedback or questions. Just hit ‘reply’ and let me know!

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Now, onto today’s newsletter!

Today’s edition revolves around my favorite beverage: coffee. I love coffee, and I can’t imagine a day without it.

I used to drink two big cups in the morning and one in the afternoon. Because of insomnia issues, I’ve eliminated my afternoon coffee, so I usually have my two morning cups and that’s it. Sometimes I drink another cup a little later in the morning, but before noon.

Caffeine’s half-life is 5-6 hours (which means half of it is still in your body by then), and it can take around 24 hours to leave your system completely, so if you struggle with insomnia at times, your caffeine habits may be worth a closer look.

But that’s not the topic of today’s newsletter. Today’s newsletter is about the effects of caffeine on positive affect, or in other words, does caffeine make you happy?

What counts as caffeine consumption?

Coffee is the classic source of caffeine, but it’s also found in tea (black, green, Mate, etc.), energy drinks, Coke, and also chocolate. Caffeine is known for its stimulant effects, and it’s estimated that around 80% of the world’s population consumes it in some form.

Does caffeine make you happy?

A new study investigated the effects of caffeine intake on positive and negative affect. The study used an approach called “experience sampling”: Participants were prompted at random times over several days to answer a few questions. This method is powerful because it mirrors real life better than lab studies, where people consume caffeine under controlled conditions.

The authors found that caffeine consumption indeed made people happier. There was a significant increase in positive affect after caffeine intake, but with a caveat: The effect was observed during the first 2.5 hours after waking and then again (but at a lower magnitude) 10-12.5 hours after waking.

Regarding the reduction of negative affect through caffeine consumption, the results were inconsistent, so there’s no clear conclusion at the moment on whether caffeine reduces negative affect.

The authors also analyzed whether the effects of caffeine on affect were influenced by between-person differences in caffeine dependency, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, or sleep quality the night before, but didn’t find any significant results.

However, people who felt more tired than usual experienced greater benefits of caffeine consumption on positive affect. In contrast, the effect of caffeine was less pronounced when participants were around other people, possibly because they were more distracted.

Why does caffeine in the morning make people happy?

The study authors discuss three different mechanisms that could play a role:

1. Psychological factors: Morning coffee (or tea) is a ritual many people look forward to, which boosts mood.

2. Withdrawal reversal: Regular drinkers are in a caffeine withdrawal state when they wake up in the morning, and this state doesn’t feel good. Caffeine consumption reverses this.

3. Biological factors: Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the central nervous system, facilitating the release of stimulating neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and noradrenaline (also called norepinephrine), which feels good.

Final thoughts

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed stimulants and has been linked to health benefits.

The study discussed in this newsletter highlights an often-overlooked effect of caffeine: It can indeed make you feel happier if you time it correctly. The best effects are observed within the first 2.5 hours of waking, with another (but smaller peak) later in the afternoon.

Because adenosine (mentioned above in point 3) builds up gradually after waking, the ideal timing for your caffeine intake would be within 1-2.5 hours after waking. And if you suffer from insomnia issues like me, then try limiting your caffeine intake to before noon.

That’s all for today. And if you excuse me now, I’m gonna get my second cup of morning coffee! 😉

If you want to support my love for coffee, you can buy me one here. ☕ That’s how I keep this newsletter free.

Until next time!

Best wishes,

Patricia (Dr. Schmidt) from creatorschmidt.com.