If coffee is your secret weapon for getting work done, then you're not alone. Millions of us can't start the day without a cup, and a few more before it's time to head home. That's why we're sharing the benefits of coffee in the workplace.
It's no wonder, then, that your coffee break is one of the most important parts of your day and can affect everything from your mood, productivity, and even your boss's likeability. Just imagine your day without your morning coffee and you'll understand.
The enjoyment of coffee is increasingly widespread in today's society. From that first morning coffee before heading off to work to the mid-afternoon coffee at the office, drinking coffee is one of the most important moments in our busy lives.
Coffee increases productivity; it makes staff happier and reduces workplace stress. It improves mood, makes you more alert, and strengthens short-term memory. All positive attributes for the workplace. But in today's workplace, it's not just important to drink coffee, but also good coffee to achieve better results and benefits.
It helps you stay more alert
The caffeine in coffee doesn't actually wake you up... but it does inhibit the release of the main compound in your brain that makes you sleepy. Called adenosine, the substance builds up throughout the day and reduces your body's energy levels, which in turn encourages drowsiness.
After drinking coffee in the morning, when you may still be tired from the excess adenosine in your system, or when refueling during the afternoon slump, caffeine blocks the brain's adenosine receptors. With the receptors blocked, your brain no longer thinks it's sleepy.
Caffeine fights depression
Coffee, of course, in moderation, plays an important role in preventing feelings of depression. In fact, according to a Harvard study, drinking four or more cups of coffee leads to a 20% lower risk of depression in women. Depression affects many aspects of a person's life, including job performance and satisfaction.
Approximately 1.7 billion cups of coffee are sold in the UK each year. Judging by these numbers, Britons really love their coffee and rely on their daily caffeine fix to keep them going.
Gets the creativity flowing
Some argue that coffee stifles creativity because the alertness it fosters prevents the mind from wandering. And a dreamy, wandering mind often leads to creative and novel thinking.
But research from MIT and others supports the notion that coffee can help people be more creative both individually and in groups. Sitting down together over coffee at work can break down normal social and professional barriers, leading to more casual or free-flowing conversations.
For others, drinking coffee stimulates their brains, blows away the cobwebs, and leaves room for innovative thinking or a flash of inspiration.
It helps you learn new things faster
There's a reason college campuses have so many coffee shops. Your coffee-fueled brain works overtime to help you learn faster and improve information retention. And you don't have to be a student to need this competitive advantage: when you work in an environment where things are constantly changing, you can never stop learning.
A study in the journal PLOS One reports that 200 milligrams of caffeine stimulates the brain to identify words and phrases more quickly. The psychologists behind the research gave healthy subjects a caffeine or lactose-containing pill. Those who consumed caffeine were able to more quickly determine whether a string of letters formed a real word or a made-up one.
Another study involving college students found that those who drank 200 milligrams of caffeine were better able to recall words from six lists of 15 words each. The aforementioned Nutrition study also found that drinking coffee improved short-term memory and increased the ability to solve reason-based problems. Whether you're studying for a test or trying to master new material, coffee can make your learning time more productive.
Although work and caffeine can be addictive, and drinking too much close to bedtime can keep you awake at night, keeping your routines in moderation can increase your productivity. So fire up the espresso machine, get out the coffee grinder, or go find the filters, and integrate them into your work environment.