Your Brain on Coffee

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.

Coffee is not just a popular beverage–it’s a drug, an addicting habit that many of us partake every morning to begin our day. Considering that most major cities have coffee shops in virtually every street corner, it is not easy to avoid coffee. And maybe you shouldn’t try to.

Recent studies indicate that coffee may somewhat delay the onset of dementia. One study found that women over the age of 65 who had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but who also drank at least 3 cups per day, were at reduced risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s disease. Their slowed mental deterioration may be attributed to the caffeine, which could protect neurons that are involved in forming memories.

So imbibing some coffee might indeed be a good thing, as long as you don’t mind the palpitations or coffee jitters (see our previous post on coffee). If further research supports these findings, perhaps we should thank our local Starbucks or Coffee Bean for keeping us wide awake and sharp through the years.