{"id":2339,"date":"2017-09-12T21:04:01","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T21:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=2339"},"modified":"2018-02-15T21:50:35","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T21:50:35","slug":"coffee-probably-cant-save-brain-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/coffee-probably-cant-save-brain-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee alone probably can\u2019t save your brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A quick internet search reveals a lot of articles and studies that contradict each other about the effects of coffee on memory and brain function. Some studies link coffee drinking with better memory and some say there\u2019s no impact at all.<\/p>\n

While those studies are good for generating headlines that draw people\u2019s attention, they don\u2019t show anything more than a loose correlation between coffee and memory, according to Theresa Regan, Ph.D.<\/a>, a neuropsychologist for OSF HealthCare<\/a>. They don\u2019t prove that drinking coffee actually causes either better memory or memory loss, or that it prevents you from developing a cognitive disorder, like dementia, later in life.<\/p>\n

Basically, drinking coffee probably isn’t that one simple trick to prevent dementia that you’re looking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf coffee does impact cognition, it seems like there\u2019s a small enough impact that it\u2019s hard to consistently capture,\u201d Dr. Regan said. \u201cEngaging in a healthy lifestyle is more likely to help your brain than coffee alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the bottom line is there’s just this small inconsistent effect, and in the end, it’s probably not going to make a meaningful difference to someone as they age, like helping them live independently rather than needing assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

A healthy body is the first step<\/h2>\n

The first priority if you want to maintain a healthy brain is maintaining a healthy body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to keep in mind that because the brain is part of the body, it benefits from a healthy lifestyle<\/a>,\u201d Dr. Regan said. \u201cThe brain is an organ that is fed by blood vessels, so anything that impacts the health of blood vessels, like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, makes it harder to maintain a healthy brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if you do grab a coffee, perhaps you could take it along while you take a hike through the woods, put veggies in your grocery cart, stay involved with people in your community, and learn a new and interesting skill. These are the things that over time are much more likely to be connected with a healthy body and brain than coffee drinking alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once you’ve done everything to support the physical health of your brain, you want to make sure nothing is draining the brain\u2019s ability to work at its highest level, like a lack of sleep, untreated depression or too much stress.<\/p>\n

While Dr. Regan is skeptical about any meaningful relationship between coffee and memory, she has more confidence in the evidence that leading a healthy lifestyle, staying socially active and learning new skills helps keeps the brain healthy over time.<\/p>\n

As for coffee, it may not be the great brain savior you\u2019ve been hoping for, but that doesn\u2019t mean it doesn\u2019t have its worthwhile charms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no evidence that it helps, but also no evidence that it hurts, so I\u2019m going to keep on having my coffee in the morning because I enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick internet search reveals a lot of articles and studies that contradict each other about the effects of coffee on memory and brain function. Some studies link coffee drinking with better memory and some say there\u2019s no impact at all. While those studies are good for generating headlines that draw people\u2019s attention, they don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99,5],"tags":[26,6],"coauthors":[692],"class_list":["post-2339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-neurosciences","category-diet-exercise","tag-diet","tag-nutrition"],"yoast_head":"\nCoffee probably can't save your brain alone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are lots of articles and studies that contradict each other about coffee and brain function.Truth is, coffee alone isn't the answer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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