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If you head to the coffee machine the moment you enter the office, don't feel guilty. You are actually helping your boss and yourself. As you will see bellow, coffee improves short-term cognition (making you a more productive and effective worker) and it also helps protect your brain from age-related diseases. Here is an overview of the three major brain related benefits of drinking coffee everyday.

Coffee Makes You Think Clearer

If you're someone who can't think straight until you have your morning cup of coffee, rest assured there's actually some science to support this feeling.

Short-term, this benefit is achieved by the chemical reaction caffeine has on the brain, particularly on the absorption of a neurotransmitter called adenosine. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for telling your brain that you are "tired" and need to rest. When caffeine is in the blood stream, it is absorbed by adenosine receptors. It then blocks the receptors from working, which prevents fatigue. This has the added benefit of increasing the ratio of other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, in your brain, which has a positive effects on motor control and cognition.

So when you drink a morning cup of coffee you are effectively shutting off the neurotransmitters that tell you that you're tired, and increasing those that make you think and act clearer.

Guards Against Alzheimer's Disease

As noted, there are significant short-term benefits to cognitive ability from drinking caffeine. However, perhaps more significant are the long-term benefits, particularly with regards to safeguarding against Alzheimer's disease. A study was done on a group of Alzheimer's patients and compared their caffeine intake in the prior two decades to a group of similar people who did not suffer from Alzheimer's. The study found that those suffering from Alzheimer's had less daily intake of caffeine.

Protects Against Dementia

Another long-term benefit of drinking coffee every morning is that it might protect against dementia. A group study was undertaken by Miami University, the University of South Florida, and Mount Sinai Medical Center that looked at a group of persons in their 60s through 80s. The study followed these individuals for several years and checked the levels of caffeine in their blood. They found that those who ended up developing dementia had far less levels of caffeine in their blood than those who did not develop the disease. The study did not indicate just how much coffee a person drank everyday, so there is no guideline on how many cups will help, only that drinking coffee seems to have a net positive effect on the prevention of dementia.

For office coffee service, contact a company such as Five Star Water.