Caffeine News and Research

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Caffeine is a bitter substance found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, some nuts and certain medicines. It has many effects on the body's metabolism, including stimulating the central nervous system. This can make you more alert and give you a boost of energy.

Caffeine intake rises among Korean adults as brewed coffee gains ground

An analysis of 48,991 Korean adults found that average daily caffeine intake from beverages increased between 2016 and 2024, while the odds of consuming at least 400 mg of caffeine on a single day rose by approximately 5% annually. Coffee remained the predominant caffeine source, with a shift from prepared coffee mixes toward brewed coffee and distinct consumption patterns across age groups and sexes.

4 Nov 2026

Gut-brain dopamine pathway drives learned food preferences over time

If you can remember your first sip of coffee, the memory might not be a pleasant one. Coffee's bitter flavor is one we naturally steer clear of. So how do coffee fans learn to love it?

4 Nov 2026

Circadian desynchronization: The hidden cost of daylight saving time transitions

Turning the clocks back an hour each fall can feel like a gift: an extra hour of sleep. But the tradeoff is less daylight in the evening, and the annual switch continues to earn mixed reviews.

29 Oct 2026

Sleep expert shares tips for adjusting to daylight saving time

The switch to standard time from daylight saving time will take place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. That's right - the day after Halloween.

28 Oct 2026

Scientists discover water-triggered reactions that may explain microplastic harm

Researchers found that six common types of microplastics spontaneously generate reactive oxygen species at their interfaces with water, with more hydrophobic plastics showing greater chemical activity. Laboratory experiments also linked these surface properties to biomolecular adsorption, protein aggregation, and mouse red blood cell damage, although the implications for human health remain uncertain.

15 Oct 2026

Coffee, citrus and genetics: What scientists found inside human breast milk

In a bioRxiv preprint, researchers analyzed 458 metabolites in breast milk samples from 349 mothers to investigate how maternal diet, genetics, clinical characteristics, and milk-cell gene expression relate to milk composition. Maternal diet explained the greatest share of metabolite variation among the measured maternal factors, while specific genetic variants and gene-expression patterns were associated with individual metabolites, although the study did not establish effects on infant health.

14 Oct 2026

From espresso to filter coffee, brewing may shape what reaches your gut

A focused narrative review traces how caffeine, chlorogenic acids, and coffee fibers move through the gut and interact with microbes. The authors identify plausible links between the microbiome and liver health, but human studies have not shown that microbiome changes cause coffee’s reported metabolic benefits.

28 Sep 2026

Exam stress significantly raises blood sugar levels in medical students

Exam stress is associated with significant increases in blood sugar levels in medical students both during exams and the days leading up to them, according to new research being presented at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept 28 – Oct 2).

27 Sep 2026

Several cups of coffee a day showed no clear diabetes link over 10 years

Researchers followed 1,158 adults in Italy for 10 years, comparing those who drank at least two to three cups of coffee daily with those who drank none. They found no statistically significant difference in new cases of impaired fasting glucose or type 2 diabetes, but the small non-consumer group limits how confidently the study can rule out a difference in risk.

21 Sep 2026

College BORG drinking associated with blackouts and other alcohol-related harms

A newly popular college drinking trend, the blackout rage gallon (BORG), fosters binge drinking and can lead to a host of alcohol-related harms, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published at Rutgers University.

15 Sep 2026

Coffee after colorectal cancer? Decaf and caffeine show different links with mortality

In a prospective analysis of 1,098 people with colorectal cancer, researchers found no significant association between total or caffeinated coffee intake and all-cause or colorectal cancer-specific mortality in the cohort overall. Decaffeinated coffee was associated with lower all-cause mortality, while the highest quartile of caffeine intake was associated with lower all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific mortality, although the observational study cannot establish causation.

10 Sep 2026

A common drink pattern was linked to less sleep and more fatigue in soldiers

A cross-sectional study of 1,155 active-duty Spanish Army personnel identified three distinct co-consumption profiles based on the frequency of caffeinated beverage, energy drink, and sugar-sweetened beverage use. Compared with the lower-frequency profile, the higher-frequency profile was associated with about 14 minutes less sleep per night, lower sleep efficiency, and greater habitual physical fatigue, although the study cannot establish causality or quantify caffeine or sugar exposure.

8 Sep 2026

Coffee, tea and dementia risk: Why the amount you drink could matter

A targeted perspective synthesizes epidemiological and mechanistic evidence examining how caffeine consumption during midlife may influence dementia risk later in life. The authors highlight potential roles for dose, age, CYP1A2 genotype, adenosine signaling and cultural drinking practices, while stressing that current observational evidence cannot establish causality.

3 Sep 2026

Coffee’s link to Parkinson’s risk may depend on how your body handles caffeine

In 435,551 UK Biobank participants followed for a median of 15.7 years, overall coffee consumption was not associated with Parkinson’s disease risk, but the relationship differed significantly according to CYP1A2 genotype. Lower risk was observed with low-to-moderate coffee intake among fast-metabolizer AA carriers, while higher intake was associated with increased risk among AC and CC carriers, although the observational findings do not establish causality and sex-specific patterns require cautious interpretation.

2 Sep 2026

Seafood at breakfast stood out in a study of nearly 6,000 adults

Researchers analyzed dietary and sleep data from 5,975 Japanese adults to examine whether seafood, EPA, and DHA intake at different meal occasions was associated with chronotype and social jetlag. Higher intake at breakfast showed the strongest association with earlier sleep timing and less social jetlag, although the cross-sectional design cannot establish whether dietary timing influences sleep patterns or vice versa.

1 Sep 2026

Can caffeine make you mentally sharper in the morning? This study tested the idea

In a controlled crossover study of 51 recreationally active young men with low habitual caffeine intake, researchers tested whether 300 mg of caffeine taken about an hour before morning testing affected cognition, mood, temperature, appetite, and related outcomes, with reactive agility assessed in 27 participants. Caffeine did not improve cognitive or reactive agility performance or meaningfully alter mood, tiredness, appetite, or thermoregulation under the study conditions.

27 Aug 2026

From caffeine to trigonelline, coffee has surprising links to muscle biology

A scoping review of 54 studies found that coffee and several coffee-derived bioactive compounds influence pathways linked to skeletal muscle metabolism, including insulin signaling, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, inflammation, glucose uptake, and protein turnover. Human studies reported associations with greater muscle mass and lower frailty or functional impairment, but most evidence remains observational or preclinical and cannot establish causality.

25 Aug 2026

More coffee, higher testosterone? This study found a more complicated picture

Higher habitual coffee intake was associated with a leaner body composition, lower circulating branched-chain amino acids, and distinct cardiometabolic patterns in 2,264 middle-aged Finnish adults. Hormonal associations differed by sex, with broader testosterone- and SHBG-related patterns in men and more limited SHBG-related changes in women.

20 Aug 2026

Review reveals how nicotine damages blood vessels and heart health

A review published today in Nature Reviews Cardiology provides the most detailed picture yet of how nicotine damages the cardiovascular system – tracing the biological chain of events from the moment nicotine binds to receptors in blood vessel walls through to the atherosclerotic plaque rupture that triggers heart attacks and strokes.

19 Aug 2026

Cocoa looks promising for mood, but the brain benefits come with a catch

A review of clinical and preclinical studies suggests cocoa polyphenols may support mood, neuroplasticity, cerebral blood flow, and gut-brain signaling through pathways involving BDNF/CREB, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

17 Aug 2026