Turns out your coffee addiction may be doing your brain a favor

A decades-long study suggests that your daily caffeine fix might be doing more than jolting you through morning meetings – it could also be quietly helping your brain hold it together. Researchers from Mass General Brigham tracked more than 130,000 people for over four decades and found that those who regularly consumed …

[John 110]

Right I

Must just nip and put the kettle on.

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Right I

This is so 2025. I just send an AI agent to do the kettle.

[JLV]

Re: Right I

It’ll 418 to complain if you do.

[Jonathan Richards 1]

Complaints

It will what? Forwunate? I am unfamiliar with this verb. I'll go and get a mug of coffee made, and come back to it.

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Complaints

HTTP error 418: "'I'm a teapot", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Text_Coffee_Pot_Control_Protocol

[Efer Brick]

Re: Right I

pft! mine drinks it for me

[Blackjack]

Re: Right I

That will be ten millions in server fees for cup and the coffee comes with a small rock because the AI thinks that is good for digestion.

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Right I

Must just nip and put the kettle on.

Kettle? KETTLE?

How very 20th century.

[Pats battered bean-to-cup [1] machine fondly, presses 'long coffee' button]

[1] Bought during lockdown 1 when I couldn't leave the house [2], repaired when the steamer heating coil broke [3], still missing some of the case screws that are in a little ramekin next to the machine..

[2] I take drugs for arthritis that significantly lower my immune system. So, until the vacceine was available, my only access to fresh air [4] was the garden

[3] One day it started leaking badly whenever the steamer got used. Bought a 'security' screwdriver set, took the panels off and discovered that the water pipe wrapped round the horseshoe-shaped heating element had split. Ordered a new new one (£50) and carefully removed the old one and fitted the new. Result. Got lots of wife-points for spending £50 and doing the repair rather than replacing the whole thing for £700..

[4] And very fresh it was too - absolutely no traffic for 6 weeks.

[algol60forever]

Re: Right I

Next time it breaks, buy cafetiere ~ £15. Lasts 20 years (longer if all parts are metal). Job done.

[Pete 2]

Specificity

> two to three cups a day

A quick rummage around the kitchen cupboard reveals we have a range, from dainty little cappuccino cups holding 70ml to mugs of 350ml capacity. And that is before we get into how many scoops of ground coffee goes into the brewing process. Plus the added variable of milk.

I can see that even by sticking to the recommended quantity, could easily mean a 10:1 difference in the amount of active ingredients.

Still, at least this avoids the ridiculous idea of measuring solid recipe ingredients in "cups" instead of by weight.

[Baucent]

Re: Specificity

Cups ? a metric cup is I believe 250ml (also Australian cup)

The (old) UK cup was/is 10 fl. oz. (284ml) and the US cup 8 fl. oz. (237ml) and the US fl. oz. is ~4% larger larger than the imperial.

Bit of a mess really.

Canada apparently both the metric cup and US cup are still used and I think I read that ~200ml cups were once used for some ingredients.

In the case of a cup of coffee the caffeine content is likely to vary even more - between brewed and instant or between the beans themselves. The assumption that it's the caffeine in coffee (or tea) that is retarding the loss of marbles might be misplaced - might be some antioxidant peculiar to these beverages. Just as likely that individuals with a congenitally less firm grip on their marbles prefer beer or carbonated drinks instead.

[Not Yb]

Re: Specificity

Another oddness is that the US standard "coffee cup" as measured by "Mr. Coffee" and similar drip brewers is 5 ounces. Very few people drink it that way, what with most coffee mugs holding between 8 and 16oz.

[Sherrie Ludwig]

Re: Specificity

My preferred coffee container is beside me as I type this, a red mug bearing a slogan you might recognize,, "keep calm and carry on". It is about 24 ounces, which is a size that I can down before it gets too cold to be palatable, but large enough to avoid jumping up every couple of minutes. Two of those is a nice start to the day.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Specificity

Their JAMA abstract clarifies a bit (§Results):

● "higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower dementia risk"

● "Higher intake of tea showed similar associations"

● "decaffeinated coffee intake was not associated with lower dementia risk"

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Specificity

● "higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower dementia risk"

● "Higher intake of tea showed similar associations"

Which is odd because the caffiene in tea is roughly half the amount of that in coffee. Tea has much higher levels of theobromine though which is one of the metabolites of caffiene in the body (contained in chocolate too).

So theobromine might well be the thing that has the protective action rather than caffeine per-se.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Re: Specificity

(FWIW) Japanese standard cup for measuring rice is 180ml. I've never heard of a "metric" cup---it just sounds wrong to me.

[The Dogs Meevonks]

Re: Specificity

A USA gallon is 3.8lts whilst in the UK it's 4.5lts.

It's all fucked...

[ravenviz]

Re: Specificity

Re US gallon, the difference in quantity is down to the difference in the defined capacities of Imperial and US pints, while both Imperial and US gallons remain defined as eight pints.

[Jonathan Richards 1]

Re: Specificity

Yeah, no. There's no such thing as a metric cup. Measurements are either (a) part of the Système Internationale (SI), or (b) promulgated by the Vulture Central Weights and Measures Soviet [1]. In the latter case, the base unit of volume is the EU Standard Grapefruit. It's impossible to have meaningful scientific discourse if you blighters are talking about measuring in cups. Leave that to the lingerie manufacturers.

[1] See the foundational document, by the late and much-missed Lester Haines: So, what's the velocity of a sheep in a vacuum? (2007)

[Twilight]

Re: Specificity

You forgot that a "cup" of coffee is ~5.5 fl oz in the US. And the "cup" of coffee I have is 20 fl oz (one per day).

Measuring things in "cups" without defining which of the many definitely makes this a hugely variable measure...

[JLV]

Re: Specificity

Cups of liquids, powders or granulates are easy to eyeball when cooking. Even without a measuring cup.

Not everyone has a scale in their kitchen. And it would be hard to eyeball weight reliably across coffee, noodles, sugar, etc…

When baking you do have to be a lot more precise and that’s why you have standard graduated cups, often in ml and cup fractions.

Same reasoning applies to table/tea spoons.

Meanwhile meats and fish typically are sold with exact weight labelled. And veggies/fruits are specced in numbers in recipes.

[Pete 2]

Re: Specificity

> Cups of liquids, powders or granulates are easy to eyeball when cooking

My point was that a "cup" can vary enormously in size, so is meaningless as a reliable measure. If half your ingredients are specified by weight (things that don't fit in a cup) then you fall into the NASA pounds/kilos trap: nobody knows what the hell you are measuring with.

For people who cannot afford a £10 kitchen scale, a cheap plastic measuring jug is a good alternative for near-enough weights and measures.

Though professional cooks, who value reproducibility, will even go to the trouble of weighing the amount of egg they put in a recipe.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Specificity

How the heck do you make pasta? I always start with "weigh the eggs". Reducing big recipes to human size needs a measure. My cheese gougere is -

62gm water/20gm butter/30gm flour/37gm cheese. Trying doing that without digital add&weigh scales. Obviously, I take mine of holiday.

[Korev]

Re: Specificity

> Not everyone has a scale in their kitchen.

I don't know anyone who doesn't!

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Specificity

I got one in the bathroom, too!

(Though it's not too handy for the 'before' part of baking, and it can be quite worrying 'after')

[richardcox13]

Re: Specificity

Few recipes I use mention weight except for fish and meat. Mostly cups and spoons.

How to say you're a left-pondian without says you're a a left-pondian :-).

In the rest of the world it is weight for everything that isn't 1. units of itself (eg. onions), or 2. table/tea-spoons (which are 15ml & 5ml respectively, otherwise hard to measure).

I do measure a lot more, in my post health crisis state and has really helped drop the carbs (was already down to am mug of coffee and a post lunch double espresso).

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Specificity

was already down to am mug of coffee and a post lunch double espresso

To quote my GP: "It's hard to say 'too much coffee' unless you put all the other nonsense in it"

(I have a cappachino wake-up in the morning and my 3-shot long-coffee+flat white top-up mid-morning. Plus a big mug of tea with breakfast and another one in the afternoon)

[dmesg]

Re: Specificity

We do, but it's not for measuring food. Don't worry, it's legal here now.

[Champ]

Re: Specificity

>Not everyone has a scale in their kitchen

Really? I'm not eating anything they cook, then

[Adair]

Re: Specificity

True, but also missing the point: the 'cups' system is about proportionality, AND the fact that most recipes don't actually require scientific levels of precision, so approximate proportions will do just as well, don't rely on having a fancy set of scales, or any scales, and are quick—the kind of system that works where resources are scarce, or 'the cook' just knows what they're doing.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Specificity

"AND the fact that most recipes don't actually require scientific levels of precision, so approximate proportions will do just as well, don't rely on having a fancy set of scales, or any scales, and are quick—the kind of system that works where resources are scarce, or 'the cook' just knows what they're doing."

I've watched a load of YouTube cooking videos made in eastern Europe and will often see the cook doing their measuring with grandmothers old tea cup. Their recipe has been honed over time to work with that as a base level of measurement so I have to look for ratios of ingredients if I want to make the same recipe. Most of the time getting close is good enough except for baking. Breads can be sensitive to measurements and often going by what feels right as the ingredients are a big variable, weather, temperature in the kitchen, etc.

I tend to brew my coffee on the weak side so I get a big pot without going through a tin in record time. It's also gives me a consistent dosing through the morning rather than a big jolt right off (with a big crash a bit later).

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Specificity

I tend to brew my coffee on the weak side so I get a big pot without going through a tin in record time

Drip-coffee gives me migraines but espresso coffee doesn't. Probably something that gets leached out in the slow percolation that doesn't with the faster brewing in a pumped espresso.

[DS999]

Since I detest coffee and tea

I was hoping they'd say something about mg of caffeine per day so I could try to correlate it to the Diet Dr Pepper I drink. But after googling how much caffeine in a cup of coffee I don't even hit the threshold for one.

I'm assuming Mass General's doctors would not advise me to up my consumption to a six pack of bottles per day to hit the mg of caffeine per day they're talking about lol

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Since I detest coffee and tea

Yeah, considering how prodigiously my past Dr Pepper consumption has helped me produce kidney stones, I think I'll stick to the coffee and tea these days. Probably used to be about a litre and a half a day, on a rough average over an extended period of time. I still indulge, but only in extreme moderation.

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Specificity

can see that even by sticking to the recommended quantity, could easily mean a 10:1 difference in the amount of active ingredients.

I checked the stats on my b2c machine - bought in April 2020, done 7300 shots. That's (mumble):

Roughly 2190 days ago (rounding up)

7300 shots

3.33 shots/day on average (and it's very rare that I don't have at least one shot a day)

I tend to not change the strength so fairly consistent in caffeine intake.

[STOP_FORTH]

A question

What about the coffee that has been through a civet?

Is kopi luwak good for you?

Is civet brown matter good for your grey matter?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: A question

I think the idea itself is full of sh*t..

[JLV]

Re: A question

it’s certainly deleterious to your wallet.

[Denarius]

Re: A question

a colleague posted to SE Asia tells me Luwak coffee is not worth it. Question: Who thought of getting beans out of civet droppings ?

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: A question

Who thought of getting beans out of civet droppings ?

Someone desperate for coffee and the only ones they could find were post-civet raid on his house..

[Rikki Tikki]

Re: A question

I believe some of the caffeine is broken down in the civet's digestive process, so Kopi Luwak may have about 20% less caffeine than regular coffee.

But, at $1,000+ a kilo, you're probably not going to find enough regular drinkers to determine whether this results in any change to dementia risk.

I'll be sticking to Aldi's own arabica ($20 a kilo)

(n.b. despite my overly pedantic response, I upvoted you)

[STOP_FORTH]

Re: A question

Well, I've upvoted you, because you are the first mongoose that has ever replied to one of my posts.

Do mongooses and civets get along?

Don't mind me, nobody on the Internet knows that I'm a dog.

[retiredFool]

Read the link

The good news for me is that more doesn't hurt. I drink coffee and tea, probably the 2-3 coffees AND the 2-3 teas during a day. I'd be a zombie without enough caffeine to keep me awake.

And unfortunely the link indicates only a couple percentage points difference between the groups. So like 7% of the caffeine drinkers had the lights go out versus around 9 for the non. Better, though not liking even a 7% chance of nobody home upstairs for me.

[CrazyOldCatMan]

Re: Read the link

I'd be a zombie without enough caffeine to keep me awake

I'm in the small group of people that caffeine doesn't keep awake. I can drink a doppio-espresso just before bed and sleep the whole night through..

[Mainframe Greybeard]

Re: Read the link

Suddenly the de-caf that the doc advised me to drink (I have reflux, and apparently caffeine aggravates reflux) is becoming less of a good idea. I'll take a bit of heartburn (I can always take over the counter antacid) over brainfade any day!

Switching back to proper caf coffee from now on!

[Claude Yeller]

Encouraging, but...

"The researchers are careful to point out that the findings are observational, meaning that they can spot patterns but can't prove cause and effect."

There is that lingering doubt. Dementia develops over decades. There is still that off chance that early dementia leads to a life style where people drink less coffee.

However, I don't mind drinking coffee daily, so why not? I don't have to wait for this to be validated in some future time.

But do a really have to limit myself to 3 cups a day?

[Blazde]

Re: Encouraging, but...

There is still that off chance that early dementia leads to a life style where people drink less coffee.

Yup, first concern. Ironically the longevity of the study counts against it here since it tracked participants well into later life when full-blown and sub-dementia levels of cognitive decline set in. If you're struggling with your day a bit then cutting out luxury tasks like making drinks that require a bit of time and effort is just what happens. At the extreme your daily routine has to simplify hugely. Where you might have made a Sunday roast you're instead struggling to pour a tin of beans over un-toasted bread, never mind delicately-wrestling a French press. Also sleep problems are associated with dementia onset so the afflicted may well choose to cut out caffeine early on.

It would be interesting to see caffeine intake over the first 10 years vs dementia risk after 40, but it's not clear from the non-paywalled abstract whether they've done that.

Second concern: We already know engaging in cognitively-stimulating activities reduces dementia risk and caffeine is a popular tool already associated with those activities. So, if drinking coffee helps you achieve the marginal extra concentration needed to complete a crossword without getting frustrated and giving up, then that might mean coffee leads to lower dementia sometimes, but it doesn't mean you can drink your way to lower dementia while watching tele-shopping.

But absolutely there are plausible explanations for biological effects. I find tea (but not coffee) helps my inflammatory condition to a surprising degree. The whole anti-oxidant angle has gone through a rise, and fall, and re-rise story-arc over the years, enduring to the point it can't be easily dismissed any more. It's a bit frustrating tea and coffee get lumped in with each other in these studies because they have hundreds of differing interesting compounds in them and yet caffeine is always the headline-stealing one. For some reason they did not study caffeinated-fizzy-drinks-in-a-can intake, even though that's the primary source of caffeine in the US. I note that the article says 2-3 cups of coffee but only 1-2 cups of tea were associated with the most pronounced outcome difference, if that's accurate it would indicate caffeine is not the (sole) cause since coffee generally has higher levels caffeine.

[Kevin Johnston]

Cup size

My cup is marked as 720ml and keeps the coffee hot for several hours being a travel mug. I do limit myself to 3-4 cups a day :)

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Could still be corellation and not causation.

Three times a day getting a coffee means three times a little break and focus the brain on something else, simple, like coffee. Something similar applies to smokers which make a smoke break several times a days. This is a little pause, so they can, in the end, perform the same work as the non smokers which did not get that pause (bad health effects of smoking aside).

Since this looks like a pure-USA study, where for the most rather insane amounts of work is expected due to the culture pressure and a few other factors, so the little pauses may have an even stronger effect than here.

On the long run the little pause breaks might prevent early Alzheimer as well. There is a reason why the study uses "could" "may", they know they see a correlation.

Personal note: For me I started with one milk coffee in the morning a while ago, it pushes the aging digestive system. I don't need any more coffee during the day, has no effect on me. But an afternoon coffee after 15:00 does have a negative effect on my sleep...

[MachDiamond]

Re: Could still be corellation and not causation.

"Three times a day getting a coffee means three times a little break and focus the brain on something else, simple, like coffee. Something similar applies to smokers which make a smoke break several times a days."

After I quit smoking, I'd still take a "smoke break" every so often at work. I'd also walk over to the vending machine next door at one job and get a Mountain Dew for a bit of pick-me-up in the afternoon. Walking around and getting some fresh air is a nice reset every so often. I'm wondering if taking coffee breaks rather than the coffee itself was controlled for in the study.

A parallel is having a break while driving on long trips. In the US, a full tank of petrol in some cars can mean the ability to driver well over 6 hours. I could do that in my 20's, but not anymore... bladder anxiety and an aversion to delaying meals. Studies have shown that regular breaks lead to fewer accidents. I know I can sometimes get plateau trace on long straight highways where the scenery doesn't vary too much.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: Could still be corellation and not causation.

> plateau trace

I have never experienced it, but I have never driven such paths in EU, they don't exist the way as in US. Though some computer games are like that too.

I my mind I often thought that: After a while I might think "am I actually driving?" or "Is the speedmeter actually working? I feel like standing still in a non moving environment!". It my fantasy completely exaggerated or close?

[Alien Doctor 1.1]

I metabollically cannot use caffeine, guess my brain is turning to mush right now.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Are you my younger self?

[Alien Doctor 1.1]

I may well be if you're in your 70's, like classic rock and ambient music and have a penchant for pulp sci-fi novels from the 60's.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

52...

Classic rock is fine, but I've heard them so often I know all the lyrics. I am a techno and ambient kid, preference Goa, though older things like "Nightflight to Venus" and "Disco Computer" are great too. Sometimes it is non-electro, 'cause "Uniteeeed you broke my taylor guitar" and "Country Trash" (the song named that way) is something which does not work as electro...

> have a penchant for pulp sci-fi novels from the 60's

I am in the last two chapters if "Reach for the stars" from Heinlein, before that the book to Hail Mary "must read before movie", and in between a lot and mostly of sci-fi and cyberpunk books.

I did catch some infection beginning 2024, some kinda long-effect shit, so I feel like I skipped at least a decade ahead... But me skipping, not the time.

[Paul Hovnanian]

I guess ...

... this makes me a frickin' genius.

[BinkyTheMagicPaperclip]

Go for caffeine if you can handle it

There is another study which basically posits that frequent users of caffeine are no better for alertness than people than abstain for wakefulness, and that if they stopped drinking it'd be an improvement.

On minimal evidence but general life experience, I don't believe this!

As someone that can't handle caffeine, I would dearly like a bit of a pick me up occasionally. Seriously just go for the coffee if it works for you! I'll be snoozing in the corner with a ginger or chamomile tea..

Middle of the road works for a lot of things. Recently found that due to advancing age it's better to have moderate amounts of alcohol on fewer occasions, than smallish amounts of alcohol frequently.

I don't really miss caffeine that much, but damn, it smells *so good* when a container of coffee is opened. 30+ years since I've had a cup.

[Michael Hoffmann]

Re: Go for caffeine if you can handle it

My condolences! As someone who is the opposite: I got tested it turned out I process caffeine at a prolific rate. Espresso half an hour before I go to bed? No problem!

OTOH, I need a large mug to get going enough in the morning (which I am NOT a person of, to use today's proper PC speak) to drive the distance to the train station.It gets the fog out, I can work through on most days without further injection (unlike my self-declared "can do with 5 hours of sleep" moronic coworkers, who might as well be on a permanent drip to remain conscious).

Sorry, didn't mean to sidetrack with a rant. As sometimes happens one particular colleague suddenly popped into my brain and it was type or work on my ulcer.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Go for caffeine if you can handle it

I reckon I'm weird then; I can't conceive of waking up - usually around six - and not being immediately awake and alert (unless ill for some reason). I love the smell of coffee but hate the taste, so don't drink it at all, and get by on a couple of cups of Lapsang Souchang (https://www.theregister.com/2013/02/15/cuppa_round_up/?page=2). Cola I can take or leave; it neither wakes me up nor keeps me awake.

[PhilipN]

Useful decades-long study please.

Something other than caffeine to get me out of bed in the morning.

I'll wait.

[alain williams]

Re: Useful decades-long study please.

My bladder.

[Anonymous Coward]

Morning coffee

Just as the other participants are starting to fill the office space.

Nip out, get a large double shot.

Face the world.

Rinse, repeat.

[John 110]

Re: Morning coffee

"Nip out, get a large double shot."

Would that be a single malt or a blend for mornings?

(asking for a friend)

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Nurses

Looks like there's a beneficial effect for Nurses - what about those that are not in that profession?

icon: IT professionals

[Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck]

Okay, that's fine for moderate amounts, but what about those of us who consume 8-12 mugs of "programming fuel" a day?

[Phil O'Sophical]

The heart attack will get you long before dementia is an issue...

[ChoHag]

> what about those of us who consume 8-12 mugs of "programming fuel" a day?

At that rate you'll avoid dementia entirely! The heart attack will get you first.

Edit: Snap!

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps it is not about coffee having a protective effect. Could just be that brains that can handle caffeine better are less prone to developing dementia?

For example, my nervous system doesn't want me to drink coffee constantly - I have to detox during the weekends at the very least , or else after a few weeks I start to feel like I haven't slept at all. I know this is not so unusual, but for me even just one cup of coffee a day leads to severe sleep deprivation over time - so the brain seems more sensitive than average. I would imagine people with similar nervous systems as mine are less likely to become coffee drinkers in the first place. And maybe they are for some reason more likely to develop dementia, whether coffee drinkers or not (in which case, sucks to be me).

Best regards from the cup always half empty brigade

[Richard 12]

Yup

That's why they took pains to state it's an observational study.

The trouble with observational studies is that you can't distinguish between coincident symptoms and causation. There's plenty of plausible reasons why there could be a higher incidence of coffee and tea drinking in pre-dementia brains.

More research is needed! Sadly it's difficult to do these studies because it takes such a long time for dementia symptoms to become visible.

However, there is a lot of great work going on!

[Richard 12]

Re: Yup

*lower.

Maybe I need to increase my intake.

[Will Godfrey]

Hmmm

What about those of us lazy tykes who drink instant coffee? I know it has much reduced caffeine, but it still has some.

Oh, and I also drink copious amounts of proper leaf tea.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Hmmm

"What about those of us lazy tykes who drink instant coffee?"

Ahhh, you've come to the wrong place. The group you want meets over on Short St.

(instant!, ack)

[The Dogs Meevonks]

I have 2 or 3 lattes a day, have done for about the last 15yrs. Time for number 2 I think.... That's number 2... not A number 2... Coffee number 1 took care of that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Coffee advisary council sez

Was this the usual research funded by the league of coffee owners.

Quite funny to think those with a moderate consumption are now glugging 12 cups a day starting now.

Next a lack of quality sleep leads to brain dysfunction. Funded by the League of beds lol.

[MJI]

My own findings

More than 2 mugs of caffeine tea a day, leave me in a fight or flight stage with brain locked out.

No caffeine I seem to be fine.

A heavy user I know, is starting to forget things at a regular basis, he lives on constant caffeine coffee, and energy drinks. Often jittery.

I think he is the outcome of addiction.

[Helcat]

2 cups? As has been noted by others: Cups can vary by volume.

Now need to go get a 1 gallon cup so I can drink my regular volume of coffee and still keep to 2 cups...

[smerz]

Very witty article and hits key points - long term longitudinal study, large cohort, careful conclusions with caveats.

[This is my handle]

I wonder if they considered the possibility ....

.... that folks with dementia simply forget to drink their coffee?

[Anonymous Coward]

Can I propose an alternative study: Incidence of dementia in retired people according to amount of daytime TV consumed.

Coffee is needed by people who need to think hard. Perhaps it's the hard thinking that helps.

[Randy Hudson]

In other words, people who wake up every day and go to an office are healthier than people who don’t. It has nothing to do with the coffee