One of the reasons I fell in love with my husband is his great coffee. He makes the best coffee ever. Further more, he serves it to me in the morning, every morning as I am still foggy from the night’s slumber. Before we were married, this marvelous man would sneak into my home on his way to work and fix my coffee, so that I would stumble down to the kitchen and find a fresh brewed cup waiting for me!
I limit myself to one or two cups of coffee, most days. That is a miracle, considering my heritage. You see, my mother always repeated that we were weaned from the breast by cups of coffee. (Remember that our truths are filtered by the words we hear from birth to age 8, so she was setting me up to have a love affair with the seductress coffee.) I believe I have vague memories of my mother wandering the house hooked up to an IV with a coffee drip. (OK, maybe that was just a fantasy my mother often spoke of.) Coffee ice cream was a treat reserved for something special, like living through the day, maybe? Iced coffee was a staple in the summer.
I have passed this legacy on to my first born. Every Monday, I write him a note in a funny card and include something like an article or a comic I thought he would enjoy, a crisp $20 bill or a gift card to Starbucks. His favorite find is the Starbucks card. My youngest son does not have the same love of coffee and I am wondering if maybe he was switched at birth because of that, but I will save that for another day.
Why all this information about coffee, especially in a hypnosis blog? Well, partly because of the power of suggestion. I just read an article pertaining to coffee and current brain research. Also, anything to do with brain research is guaranteed to interest me and I love to share the news. So, here is the scoop:
Studies in the past have shown that drinking coffee can relieve stress as well as reduce depression, but scientist attributed these effects to the caffeine in the coffee, not to the smell. Scientists have found that the mere smell of coffee has an effect on the brain.
Korean researchers conducted experiments with rats to study the effects of coffee’s smell on the brain. Stressed, sleep-deprived rats and rats that were not stressed were exposed to the aroma of coffee. The activity of the brain of these two groups were compared to two other groups of rats. One group was stressed and sleep deprived, the second group was unstressed, neither were exposed to the smell of coffee.
The researchers found that when the rats were exposed to the smell of coffee, thirteen genes in the brain that control anxiety were stimulated at different levels of activity. The result was a reduction in stress of the sleep-deprived rats.
According to the Korean researchers, for the first time, their experiment provides “clues to the potential antioxidant or stress-relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma. These experiments indirectly explain why so many people use coffee for staying up all night. The stress caused by sleep loss via caffeine may be alleviated through smelling the coffee aroma.”
P.S. Honey you now know one of the 180 reasons I listed, only 179 to go!
What amazing findings! I wonder if there are other aromas with beneficial effects? Do you remember the National Geographic Smell Test that the magazine conducted about ten years ago? I participated and they used one of those scratch and sniff formats to do a large-scale investigation of their readers. I remember that a number of the smells were quite noxious. I also remember that they discovered that women had a better memory for smells than men (I think).
This doesn’t surprise me. When we’re on vacation and I’m away from my normal coffee, you can often hear me grumbling until I locate what I refer to as “happy coffee.” The kids think I’m just being silly, but there is a noticeable mood improvement just having a cup of “happy coffee” in my hands.
Wow. Very interesting. I always knew coffee was a great wake-up helper, but I didn’t realize the aroma was just as helpful. As a child, I loved the smell of coffee, but hated the taste. I used to wake my mom up every morning (or on the weekends anyway) with a cup of coffee. My father would make it for her, and I would take it up to her and gently wake her up,putting the cup of coffee on her side table. As I got older, I learned to appreciate coffee too…well, as long as there is enough sugar and creamer to drown the taste…thanks for another great posting.
What a lovely tradition you have with your son, Debbie. I used to do something similar with my son, but not involving coffee.
I adore coffee. I can’t live without coffee. If they told me it causes cancer, I would still love coffee. Am I addicted? 😉
@ Patricia,
I was not aware of the test by NG, but I will now go in search of the results. Thank you for sharing that. Gee, I wish a group of scientists would find me for such a fun test. (I better be careful what I say here, my son is currently involved in brain research and he has an evil scientist bent in him…..)
@ luckygirl,
if your kids are clever they will be fetching happy coffee for you as they get older, in order to borrowthe keys to the car, etc.!
@ henson,
your Dad sounds like a marvelous example for you. Thanks for stopping by, I enjoy your posts as well, usually with my first cup of coffee!
@ glam,
we are talking coffee here, it can’t be addiction, it is simply good taste, right? doesn’t coffee inspire great fashion moments? I am sure it does.
I actually use coffee beans like potpourri in my living room. I have a bowl of fresh beans sitting out, I will place shells or flowers or whatever hits my fancy that day in them to decorate. When the scent goes, so do the beans.
I so remember as a teenager visiting my grandmother in Dublin and walking with her down Grafton Street. On that street was a shop called Bewleys where they used to (and possibly still do) roast their own coffee, with the aroma drifting out into the street. Without saying anything, we both slowed down and breathed in deeply as we were surrounded by that beautiful smell. I can remember it so clearly.
Like henson, I still don’t much like the taste too much.
I was just reading this post while drinking my cup of coffee, and I really do think there is something in what you are saying.
I was not doing so good this morning – feeling a little emotional about the whole break up. As I walking to get my coffee, I was wondering to myself why the mornings are much worse than the rest of the day.
Then I came to my desk and read your blog. It got me thinking. I do seem to feel more “settled” this week after my cup of coffee.
I am sure that’s not the only reason, I feel worse in the morning than later in the day, but I am sure its one of them.
Oh, by the way, does the same thing happen with tea? I am sure you are aware of the english habit of offering a person a cup of tea when they are feeling crappy.
@ Caroline,
The mornings may be difficult for you simply because of your bio-rhythms. Some people are night owls and some are morning larks.
However, the cup of coffee does help. Also, go to bed thinking about things that bring you joy. Fill yourself with a sense of joy and then think about the day to come with those feelings in place. Imagine the opportunities a new day will bring. This allows you to awaken feeling a bit more empowered.
Walking to get your coffee is great. The mere fact you are walking is releasing oxygen into your system and exercise can help release endorphins (those feel good emotions.)
I will have to look into the tea relationship. Perhaps my friend and colleague The Transparent Hypnotist will know, she is British and an avid tea drinker.
Ellie? Answers?
Interesting, coffee is not something I use to like then one day I had Starbucks. Five years later I’m afraid to compute how much my I spend there a month.
UHM…back to my third cup of java…I love to start my day with coffee or tea..and my hubby also makes my coffee.
I guess we both have keepers..
Joy to you..
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
@ A.
mmmm, the smells of fresh brewed coffee and the memories that brings back for you. How cool is that?
@ rick,
Starbucks should come with a warning label!
@ dorothy,
yes we do!
Hi Debbie,
Glad you asked about tea. It does indeed help with stress. According to a study by the University College London (2006), black tea helps lower cortisol (the stress hormone) levels that develop during stressful situations. The test group felt the benefits of relaxation much sooner during the recovery time after a stressful situation as well.
Ellie