And the winner is … Tea is undoubtedly good for your blood pressure, cholesterol, stress levels, mental health and productivity. And both drinks are winners when it comes to heart health and longevity. And for tea, especially, there are likely more health benefits that are yet to be discovered.
Tea can help us unwind, leaving us feeling relaxed and calm. Tea can help relax your body, and it boasts several mental health benefits as well. Research is showing that enjoying a cup of your favorite tea can improve your mood, focus and maybe even help battle depression.
Research suggests that caffeine may help to relieve depressive symptoms or help to protect against depression. A 2016 meta-analysis accounting for a total of 346,913 individuals and 8,146 cases of depression suggested that coffee consumption may have a protective effect.
Caffeine only provides a temporary boost to the nervous system. As a result, people with depression may experience a more severe drop in their mood once the effects of the stimulant wear off. People with depression should only consume caffeine in moderation.
But, drinking coffee can make anxiety symptoms worse. Research shows that in people with panic disorder, caffeine consumption raises the risk of having a panic attack and increases levels of anxiety. People with anxiety should consider avoiding or limiting coffee and other caffeinated drinks.
Tea provides good hydration.
Even though tea may also be caffeinated, it generally contains far less caffeine and is a good alternative to coffee. Patients should note that the benefits of tea can vary depending on the type of tea, although darker and green teas are the more beneficial varieties.
It depends. Both tea and coffee have notable health benefits for the body, and both drinks can be part of a healthy diet. Thus, the "best" option depends on what's most important to you. For example, if it's the antioxidants you're after, either beverage can check that box.
In short, tea beats any alternative morning drink. Although it may not have the same amounts of caffeine as coffee, nor the same levels of vitamin C as orange juice, tea has a host of other benefits that make the case for tea – hot or cold – being your new choice of drink in the mornings.
The findings show that heavy coffee drinkers had a reduced risk for depression than non-drinkers. No association was found between depression and tea consumption. Another long-term study of 50,739 U.S. women (part of the Nurses' Health Study) found that depression risk decreased with greater coffee consumption.
The best stress-relieving drinks include ginger, chamomile tea, valerian, black tea, coconut water, milk, green tea, coffee, lemon balm tea, water, and vegetable and fruit juice. Aromatherapy is another self-soothing practice shown to have benefits for mental health.
Teas, including black, green, oolong, white, purple, and pu-erh, can all help fight symptoms of anxiety and stress. Since tea also contains caffeine, the combination of the caffeine and l-theanine is said to produce clarity and focus that helps soothe the mind and increase mental performance.
“Tea tends to make us feel less jittery—not only because it contains less caffeine, but because it's also a great source of the amino acid L-theanine. L-theanine acts as a buffer during the digestion process, which helps prevent jitters and the crash that is often associated with coffee.
Interestingly, it turns out there was a reason for that: Caffeine helps the brain release dopamine into the prefrontal cortex, a brain area important for mood regulation. Caffeine may also help the storage of dopamine in the amygdala, another part of the brain important for anxiety regulation.
Start by drinking one cup of tea for every two cups of coffee you drink. Choose a tea that you enjoy and experiment with different flavors. Try to drink tea at the same time each day to make it a habit.
You have to drink around 1.5 cups of tea to equal the same caffeine in a single cup of coffee.
Green tea is often touted as the healthiest tea. It is chock full of polyphenols and antioxidants that help to boost brain and heart health. Green tea is considered one of the least processed true teas as it does not undergo oxidation. Leaves are harvested and immediately dried and rolled.
Observational research has found that tea consumption of 2-3 cups daily is associated with a reduced risk of premature death, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. [2] However, there may be an increased risk of esophageal and stomach cancers from drinking tea that is too hot (more than 131-140° F [55-60° C]).
If caffeine is a big part of your daily diet, taking it away can have a host of unpleasant effects in the short term. These include headache, tiredness, sleepiness, down moods, trouble concentrating, and crankiness. You'll start to feel symptoms a day or two after you stop. They can last anywhere from 2 to 9 days.
Quitting caffeine can reduce anxiety levels
That burst of energy for which people love coffee in part stimulates our fight or flight response.
Drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee gives you a boost of energy that can lift you out of a bad mood. It's one reason why we consume over 600 million cups of coffee in the U.S. each day. Research into coffee and depression has found that people tend to experience less severe symptoms when they drink coffee.
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.