Study: Caffeine May Be a Natural Anti-Depressant

by: Javier Benek

Not only might coffee help you live a lot longer, it might also help you avoid depression and even keep you from killing yourself! A team from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who drink 2 to 4 cups of caffeinated coffee every day have significantly lower suicide risk than those who avoid or drink very little of the popular beverage.

Many experts believe it's the caffeine that's providing the natural anti-depressant benefit and that almost any source of the stimulant could provide similar results. 2 - 4 cups of coffee is equal to around 400 mg of caffeine. Interestingly, drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day doesn't appear to lower suicide risks.

Caffeine's powerful effects on human brain neurochemistry are well known. It acts as a "mimic" of an important tiredness-regulating chemical called adenosine and strongly affects levels of the neuro-stimulating chemicals dopamine and glutamate. The overall effect is a big boost in mental energy/stimulation and, it appears, a lessening of depression.

The findings aren't conclusive but at least it gives us another reason to spend all that money on Starbucks!

Learn some mo': Will A Few Cups Of Coffee A Day Keep The Blues Away?