What makes you reach for your coffee?

“Don’t speak to me until I’ve had my coffee” is a phrase many of us can relate to. It is either a warning we issue ourselves, or experience first-hand from family, friends and even work colleagues.

Many people struggle to get out of bed each day, and just get ready on autopilot. It isn’t until we’ve had our boost of coffee that we start to feel like ourselves again and are ready for whatever the day throws at us. As well as kickstarting our morning, coffee is also something we turn to provide a vital boost if we feel we’re flagging during the day, often in the early afternoon after we’ve eaten.

So what is it that makes coffee an indispensable part of our daily routine?

This is a question The British Psychological Society has looked at recently and it found that the psychological effects of a cup of Joe go beyond just boosting our alertness.

Focus

The most obvious effect comes from caffeine, which is a stimulant that not only increases alertness, but also improves focus and problem solving. In fact, a university study found that the caffeine in coffee helped improve the results of memory tests taken by students in the morning – a time that is a typical low point for memory functions in young adults.

So it can be a lifesaver after a bad night’s sleep, when drive and concentration are particularly low. We turn to our favourite drink to get us going again, although psychologists warn that the benefits of a good night's sleep far outweigh the extra lift we get through our coffee.

As well as giving us a much-needed boost, there is also the social side to coffee and a definite café culture has emerged in the UK during the past few years. Some enjoy sitting in a café or, weather permitting, enjoying their favourite drink in the fresh air, while others use it as a way of getting out of the office for a few minutes and grabbing a cup of java.

Socialising

It has been suggested that any hot drink will give us a lift, not just coffee. There have been mixed results from studies into the effect hot drinks have on human emotions, but at the end of the day, we are social creatures who enjoy the company of others. You might get strange looks if you suggested to someone that you sit across a table from each other and just talk, but throw in coffee, maybe some biscuits and even a slice of cake, and you’ve got a social event everyone will enjoy.

We all love meeting up with friends and family over a coffee, or having a rest after a shopping trip. But psychologists urge us to wait for coffee until after we have done our shopping because caffeine before retail therapy can lead to impulse buying. Research this year found that people who had an espresso before hitting the shops spent 50% more than those who had decaf before heading to the tills. And most of what the bought ended up being impractical and simply an indulgence they would later regret.

Business

As well as our social lives, business meetings are often carried out over a cappuccino or latte, whether it is in the boardroom, in the fresh air, or in our favourite coffee shops.

And, because we spot strange things like this, coffee is also code for something else. Have you noticed that in the movies, whenever the plot builds up to a romantic assignation, someone always seems to ask: ‘would you like to come up for coffee?’. Coffee? Is that what you call it?

However you’re planning to enjoy your coffee this weekend, we hope you have a good one and we’d love to hear any other reasons why you love coffee as much as we do!

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