Cup of Tea could reduce your stress
bythemethod | August 13, 2009According to the gm.tv website research, led by psychologist Dr Malcolm Cross at City University London, has shown making and drinking a cup of Tea when under stress really does help. This, of course, goes against most other research that suggests the caffeine in a cup of Tea will raise your levels of stress. The research does seem pretty convincing though with a 4% reduction in stress being reported for those who had Tea after a stressful event compared to those who went without.
However 4% is a pretty meagure amount of stress reduction and this might not work for everyone. This study was undertaken in the UK where there is a kind of informal Tea ceremony in times of crisis – “let’s put the kettle on”. British people have often taken a few moments to think through a problem over a cup of Tea and it could well be the positive psychological effect of this stopping and thinking that could be the reason for these results.
I’m still to be convinced that Tea itself has any medical stress benefits but having a calming routine you can use whenever a crisis hits will certainly help (as I believe this study really shows).
