Written by Lori Thiessen
As I battle with my own chronic depression, I’m always interested in finding out new ways of dealing with it. There are some who claim that coffee can help depression and other (a great many others) who say that coffee increases your depression.
I’ve been trying to find some bona fide medical source to give me the low-down on this issue and so far all I’ve come up with are a lot of contradictory non-medical opinions. The closest article I came to was one at bodyandfitness.com which has a number of medical studies cited in it.
The writer reported that while depression can be a result of caffeine addiction, coffee drinkers are 58-66 per cent LESS likely to commit suicide than non-coffee drinkers.
But another study showed that psychiatric patients who were coffee drinkers are more likely to suffer from depression. Frankly, I think that just being labelled as a psychiatric patient and all the social stigma attached to it could probably lead to depression.
So who do I believe? Even the writer of the article seemed to be stumped at these opposing indicators.
My father always believed in moderation. He drank one cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast for as long as I remember. As far as I know, he never suffered from depression or if he did, he hid it pretty well.
It seems to me to be common sense that if you over indulge in anything, you are going to have problems. Coffee does give a quick pick-me-up but drinking a lot of coffee may cause depression.
I’ve read that people who are Scandinavians or people who have Scandinavian ancestry are more likely to suffer from depression than other ethnic groups. And the Scandinavians also love their coffee.
Now, does this mean that the Nordic peoples’ heavy coffee drinking habits have created an endemic depression? Or does the coffee drinking help off-set depression caused by light deprivation from being so far north?
But as far as I know, historically the Inuit people generally do not suffer from depression and they are not noted coffee drinkers. However, as the Inuit people adapt the North American lifestyle and eshew their traditional culture, depression could now be a problem.
Hmmm.
Some bright medical/sociological spark will have to figure this one out, not me. For now, I’ll stick to my dad’s rule of one cup of coffee in the morning. People with depression often have a difficult time in the morning so that one jolt of caffeine might be enough to at least get the ball rolling. But no more and don’t add any sugar in it because excess sugar consumption has also been linked to depression.
So order me one medium americano – no milk, no sugar and I will give you a big smile and say “Thank you. You made my day begin!”
Q: What are your thoughts on caffeine and depression?
Until Next Time,
May Your Coffee Always Be Freshly Brewed!
6 responses so far ↓
Noah // April 7, 2009 at 8:02 pm |
Hi Lori,
I too suffer from frequent depression. I also find that a cup of coffee once in a while makes me feel a whole lot better. However, my single class in psychology (not much, I know) would suggest that the key to long term energy and relative happiness is to avoid caffeine all together and focus on your sleep patterns. Even though most people don’t consider it so, sleep is probably the single most important factor of mental health. It’s also a far more complex bodily function than most people suspect. The average adult needs at minimum 8 hours a night, and the more the better (Lance Armstrong sleeps 10 hours a night plus power naps). This means developing a consistent sleep schedule all 7 days of the week. You know you are getting enough sleep when not only do you not need caffeine to feel energized, but you don’t need an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning.
Anyway all that’s good in theory, but its very difficult to maintain, at least for me.
coffeeshopoffice // April 9, 2009 at 5:12 pm |
Hi Noah!
Thanks for writing in. Sleeping is indeed often overlooked in terms of maintaining good health, especially in our frenetic 24/7 world. I looked at the issue of ’sleep hygiene’ a while ago and it is, as you say, a much more complex function than we think. In fact, the medical community doesn’t really know why we sleep. But it’s clear that we do need much more than we are getting on average. It would be great if we could all sleep as thoroughly as Lance Armstrong, but for most of us this just isn’t an option. So I’ll try my best to sleep as much as I can as regularly as I can but still have that cuppa joe on those slow, walking-through-thick-mud, mornings.
Thanks again!
Lori
Ludwig Von Konchi // April 21, 2009 at 11:41 pm |
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote once that coffee make you depressed. i cant remember where he wrote it. but i never forgot that quote. i think he was RIGHT.
i quit coffee every once in a white but unfortunately i start drinking it again. call it a bad habit. one day i’ll put my foot down and stop altogether. but i know that coffee especially with sugar is NOT good for you…you’re better off with TEA. less caffein and some good stuff in it like selenium. if you get any buzz from drinking tea is from not getting any down feeling after coffee…
hope that’s helpfull.
regards
coffeeshopoffice // April 23, 2009 at 10:58 pm |
Hi Ludwig!
Thanks for your comment. How interesting that Nietzsche was interested in the effects of coffee! I would suggest that drinking too much coffee is definitely bad for you but drinking about 1 cup a day isn’t that bad. Some health studies even show that there may be some great benefits to drinking a little coffee, in the way of preventing certain types of cancer, diabetes and stroke. But some people are more sensitive to caffeine and probably shouldn’t drink coffee at all. Sounds like you are in the latter group, Ludwig. I wish you every success in kicking what you see as a bad habit.
Cheers,
Lori
Carrie // December 2, 2009 at 2:56 pm |
Hi! I have noticed lately that especially after drinking a couple cups of coffee, I get extremely sad and sometimes even start crying. I have been going through some depression and thought it was just that; but noticed the pattern on how I was feeling right after coffee. I feel too much of a good thing is not good.
coffeeshopoffice // December 6, 2009 at 11:00 pm |
Hi Carrie!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Good for you for taking the time to notice your patterns around when your depression worsens. I totally agree that too much of a good thing is not good.
I wish you good luck in your continued fight against your depression. Stay strong!
Lori