Caffeine and Depression: Is drinking coffee good for our mental health?

Caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive drug (a chemical substance that alters the functioning of the brain); it’s commonly consumed in forms such as coffee, tea, cocoa/chocolate, and soft drinks¹. As a natural stimulant, the effects (both positive and negative) can include increased alertness, insomnia, anxiety², and accelerating digestive processes³.

The relationship between caffeine and depression is a paradox⁴ making it unclear whether drinking coffee helps or hinders those living with depression.

Lifestyle factors

Approximately 5.7% of adults, globally, experience depression⁵, and between October and December 2024, antidepressants were prescribed to 6.9 million people living in the UK⁶.

Although there are medications to treat depression, they do not fully work for everyone. In fact, almost half of people diagnosed with depression may fall into the category of treatment resistant depression (TRD), meaning a large number aren’t receiving adequately working medication⁷.

Lifestyle factors can also help reduce the risk of depression, such as eating a healthy diet, reducing alcohol consumption, frequent social connection⁸, and maintaining a regular sleeping pattern⁹.

Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD)

Ketamine (when used in specialist clinical settings under strict protocols) and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are often used when standard antidepressants aren’t working. These trigger adenosine (a signalling molecule that, among other things, regulates mood) and has opened doors into developing new treatments that act on it, offering alternatives to medication for TRD¹⁰.

Some studies suggest a regulated amount of coffee (between 68mg and 509mg of caffeine a day – about an average-sized cup of coffee) can lead to a decreased risk of depression by as much as 8%¹¹.

The coffee paradox is that while activating adenosine receptors is necessary for antidepression effects, caffeine blocks these adenosine receptors, and yet chronic coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of depression¹².

Although understanding how lifestyle factors such as coffee consumption may influence depression risk, clinical research into alternative treatments is where breakthroughs happen.

Clinical research

Here at MAC Clinical Research, we want to improve quality of life for people living with depression. We are conducting several clinical trials, investigating alternative treatments for depression; both psychedelic and non-psychedelic treatment. To learn more about these clinical trials and register your interest, visit our current trials webpage.

1. Neuropsychiatric effects of caffeine | Advances in Psychiatric Treatment | Cambridge Core
2. Caffeine – Alcohol and Drug Foundation
3. Neuropsychiatric effects of caffeine | Advances in Psychiatric Treatment | Cambridge Core
4. Adenosine as the metabolic common path of rapid antidepressant action: The coffee paradox in: Brain Medicine Early Online Release | Genomic Press
5. Depressive disorder (depression)
6. Antidepressant drugs prescribed on the rise again, reveals latest figures
7. Coffee may interfere with 2 major treatments for depression: study
8. Healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression – and new research may explain why | University of Cambridge
9. Regular sleep patterns, not just duration, critical for mental health: association of accelerometer-derived sleep regularity with incident depression and anxiety | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
10. Adenosine as the metabolic common path of rapid antidepressant action: The coffee paradox in: Brain Medicine Early Online Release | Genomic Press
11. Coffee And Depression: Coffee Consumption And Mental Health | BetterHelp
12. Coffee may interfere with 2 major treatments for depression: study