In the UK, we are the 5th biggest consumer of tea in the world, sipping around 36 billion cups annually. On average, we drink 2.7 cups of tea daily and more than 20% of people drink 4 cups or more. There is a National Tea Day on 21st April each year – a day where all things tea are celebrated. There is even a festival devoted to it called Fes-TEA-val.
You may have heard of the physical health benefits of drinking tea, but did you know there may also be mental health benefits too?
We’ve compiled a list of our top reasons why having a cuppa is going to benefit your brain and your mental wellbeing. Make yourself a cuppa and have a read.
Get focused
Tea contains caffeine, though not as much as the average cup of coffee. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant so opens up our airways and gets our blood to pump faster. Our brain requires both of these to function optimally, which is why we often feel alert and focused after drinking tea.
Hold on to the feel-good hormones
Caffeine prevents dopamine, one of our feel-good hormones, from being reabsorbed. This means it hangs around in our system longer, so we feel good for longer.
Stay hydrated
Despite the diuretic effects of caffeine, tea does hydrate us and our brains require good hydration to perform at our best. Just a 10% drop in hydration levels can lead to fuzzy thinking, poorer co-ordination and slower reaction times. Drink too much and we will overload our brains with caffeine, but 3-4 cups a day are generally accepted as perfectly healthy to consume. This could be up to half of your hydration per day – and more fun than water!
Gratitude and pleasure
When someone makes you a cup of tea it feels good, doesn’t it? You get a little glow of gratitude and pleasure from this small act. But did you know, that ‘feeling’ you’re experiencing is actually a release of serotonin, one of the most important neurotransmitters in helping us function well emotionally? When we have a good flow of serotonin, we are often able to cope better, are happy and feel confident. Tea is not the only way you can get it – see more tips on ways to be happy.
Enjoy a good chat
Ever stop to wonder why a chat with a friend over a cuppa can get you back on track with your day? It is another of those moments that creates serotonin and, if you’re really doing it well, you might even get a little hit of oxytocin in there too. When we spend time positively interacting and bonding with one another, we produce neurotransmitters to encourage us to do it more. Why? Because evolution knows we work better as a tribe, so we get a reward every time we do it. Our friends often know just the right thing to get us smiling and laughing again (more happy hormones) and you can see how just a quick cuppa really can turn your day around.
Take a brain break
Taking a break to have a cuppa allows your brain to take a break too. You might get to a point in your day when you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed and you want to get up and walk away from a task. Having a cup of tea gives you a little bit of time to do just that, so when you come back you’re feeling more in control. As well as the other benefits we’ve spoken about, you’ll be back in your intellectual brain – the bit that can get through that work brilliantly.
Make tea a ritual
We aren’t talking full-on tea ceremonies here, but we are talking about elevating that few minutes of time for tea as something a little bit more special. Even just knowing that you treasure time for tea can make you feel good every time you have a cup. You can turn it into a few minutes of real mindfulness by picking a favourite cup, allowing the tea time to brew properly (2 minutes according to the scientists), allowing it to cool to just the right temperature, and savouring the complex tea flavours. Mindfulness has been shown to benefit us on a physical and mental level, in part by bringing us back into our pre-frontal cortex, our intellectual brain. When we operate from here, we do well and cope better. Repeated practice makes it even easier to attain this positive and beneficial mental state.
So basically: drink plenty of tea.
Inspired to Change hypnotherapists are based across the UK and are all recognised by the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association. Find a solution focused hypnotherapist near you.
