How coffee (even decaffeinated) can sharpen your brain

Your morning coffee doesn’t just give your brain that much-needed boost—it can also improve your mood and lower stress, and that’s true for decaffeinated coffee, too.

Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee both improve your cognition and overall health, suggesting it’s not just the caffeine that is doing the work, say researchers from University College Cork.

Both caffeinated and decaf coffee alter gut bacteria in ways linked to better mood and lower stress; in addition, decaf improves learning and memory, while caffeinated coffee boosts focus and reduces anxiety.

In tests with 31 coffee drinkers—who were drinking an average of three to five cups a day—and 31 non-drinkers, the researchers found that caffeine and decaf coffee each had health benefits.  Both groups of coffee drinkers reported improvements in mood, including lower levels of stress, depression, and impulsivity.

This suggests that caffeine may not be playing such a key role, but that polyphenols found in both coffees could be more important, improving the gut microbiome, which influences overall health and mood.

“Coffee is more than just caffeine. It’s a complex dietary factor that interacts with our gut microbes, our metabolism, and even our emotional well-being”, said John Cryan, one of the researchers.

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