Will your morning coffee have a placebo effect? Study gives the answer

Maybe coffee has a placebo effect that makes us say, “I can only work in the morning after drinking coffee.” What is certain is that there is some effect, from concentration to mood (or, in some cases, anxiety for those who can’t do without drinking coffee). But, ultimately, does drinking coffee in the morning really affect our energy?

On the day that is celebrated as International Coffee Day, October 1, Versa is unveiling the results of a Portuguese study titled “Coffee consumption reduces subsequent resting-state default mode network (DMN) connectivity,” which set out to explore the idea that “coffee increases… alertness and psychomotor performance” and understanding the true psychological effects of coffee/caffeine, which are the subject of ongoing debate.

To reach the results, the researchers gathered 83 participants, 47 of whom drank coffee and 36 drank caffeine diluted in hot water.

Through the MRI that was performed before drinking the drink and after another 30 minutes, it was possible to notice a decrease in brain activity in both groups in the part of the brain that puts the person in a state of rest, which means that there was energy boost. However, there is a difference between those who drank coffee and diluted caffeine: in the former, brain activity increased in other parts of the brain related to concentration, attention and short-term memory.

Now what can be concluded? Regardless of caffeine content, coffee can contribute to a greater state of alertness, and any sensory experience, whether smell, taste or vision, suffices. This only happens to those who drink at least one coffee a day, so those who don’t drink coffee regularly may not feel the same effects.

After all, it seems that the expression with which we started the article is not just an excuse to drink coffee, and that there is no placebo effect. So, allow yourself to drink coffee in the morning (at the right time) if it makes you feel better.

“The pleasure that is given to an individual who enjoys coffee in the morning is actually part of a ritual that is also important for that individual to feel ‘I am ready for the day,’” said Nuno Souza, one of the study participants. The authors are a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Minho in Portugal. NBC News.

The investigation was published in June 2023 in the scientific journal Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience.