on PinterestCoffee, even without caffeine, can reduce stress, improve learning, and boost mood by influencing your gut-brain axis.
on PinterestCoffee, even without caffeine, can reduce stress, improve learning, and boost mood by influencing your gut-brain axis. Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty Images
- New research suggests both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can improve mood and reduce stress by influencing the gut–brain axis.
- Coffee may alter the gut microbiome, increasing bacteria linked to digestion, immunity, and emotional regulation.
- Decaf coffee was associated with improved learning and memory, while caffeinated coffee enhanced attention and reduced anxiety and inflammation.
- Experts say coffee’s polyphenols and other compounds may support mental well-being by lowering inflammation and strengthening communication between the gut and brain.
Your morning cup of coffee may be more than just an energizing ritual.
New research from APC Microbiome Ireland suggests that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can improve mood and reduce stress by acting on the gut–brain axis.
Researchers analyzed 62 adults, including 31 regular coffee drinkers and 31 non-drinkers, using psychological assessments, diet tracking, and stool and urine samples to examine changes in the gut microbiome and mood.
Coffee drinkers, defined as those consuming 3 to 5 cups daily, first abstained for two weeks, which led to notable shifts in gut metabolite profiles.
When coffee was reintroduced in a blinded trial, half consumed caffeinated and half decaffeinated. Both groups reported reduced stress, depression, and impulsivity, suggesting benefits beyond caffeine.
Researchers also observed increases in specific gut bacteria linked to digestion and immune function.
Decaffeinated coffee was associated with improved learning and memory, while caffeinated coffee was linked to reduced anxiety, better attention, and lower inflammation, highlighting distinct but complementary effects.
How coffee affects the gut-brain axis
Coco Pierrel, is a certified integrative nutritionist and founder of Eat Shed Glow, who was not involved in the research.
She told Healthline that this study is the first to confirm what gut health specialists have seen in clinical practice for years: that coffee is a functional beverage.
“Coffee feeds your gut microbes through plant compounds called polyphenols and fiber-like molecules called melanoidins,” Pierrel explained.
“Your gut bacteria ferment these into short-chain fatty acids, which send signals directly to the brain through the vagus nerve.”
Pierrel recommended thinking of your gut as a second brain that is in constant communication with your first brain, and coffee is one of the loudest messages you send it every morning.
“Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain to sharpen alertness, while stimulating gastric acid and motility in the gut,” she explained.
“Coffee is one of the few daily habits that synchronizes your metabolism with your mental clarity, which is exactly what makes it such a powerful player on the gut-brain axis.”
Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee have health benefits
People often associate the mental benefits of coffee with caffeine. However, this study shows that when it comes to lowering stress, boosting learning, and improving memory, decaf coffee has merit too.
“The polyphenols in coffee, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated, lower inflammation, and chronic low-grade inflammation is one of the most underrated drivers of low mood and anxiety,” Pierrel pointed out.
“Those same polyphenols get fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which
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