Surprisingly: Decaffeinated coffee still improves brain function.

A new study suggests that coffee can positively impact the brain and mood, even when caffeine-free. This indicates that the benefits of coffee don't just come from the familiar stimulant, but also from the mechanisms of the gut microbiome.

Coffee can improve mood, reduce stress, and support cognitive function - Photo: Chevanon Photography/Pexels

For many years, coffee was often seen as an "energy drink" thanks to caffeine – a stimulant compound that helps with alertness and concentration.

However, new research from University College Cork, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, suggests the story isn't so simple: even decaffeinated coffee offers significant benefits to mood and cognitive abilities.

Notably, this study directly compared two common types of coffee. Caffeine-containing coffee is the traditional type, which contains active ingredients that stimulate the central nervous system, increasing alertness, reducing drowsiness, and improving reflexes.

Meanwhile, decaf coffee has had most of the caffeine removed but retains many other bioactive compounds such as polyphenols – substances that can affect gut and brain health.

The study was conducted on 62 people, including 31 who drank coffee regularly (3-5 cups per day) and 31 who did not drink coffee.

After asking the group to "quit" drinking coffee for two weeks, the scientists divided them into two groups: one group resumed drinking caffeinated coffee, and the other group drank decaffeinated coffee for three weeks without knowing which type they were consuming.

The results showed that both types of coffee produced significant changes in the gut microbiome – a factor increasingly shown to be closely linked to the brain via the "gut-brain axis". These changes were accompanied by improvements in mood, reduced stress, and support for cognitive function.

Specifically, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee help reduce symptoms of depression, stress, inflammation, and impulsivity, while improving mood and cognitive abilities. This suggests that the benefits of coffee come not only from caffeine, but also from other bioactive compounds.

However, there are still distinct differences between the two types of coffee. Caffeine-rich coffee has shown better effects in reducing anxiety, improving concentration, responding to stress, and even helping to lower blood pressure.

Conversely, decaffeinated coffee excels at improving sleep, increasing physical activity, and supporting memory—factors particularly important for those sensitive to caffeine.

According to the research team, coffee is essentially a "microscopic biological system" with many compounds interacting in complex ways with the body. It not only affects metabolism but also influences the gut microbiome, thereby indirectly impacting mental health.

However, the scientists also noted that the study still has some limitations, such as relying partly on participants' self-assessments of mood and behavior. Additionally, the precise mechanisms by which coffee affects the gut-brain axis are not yet fully understood.

However, these results add further evidence that coffee, with or without caffeine, can offer benefits to overall health. More importantly, it opens up a new perspective: choosing the right type of coffee is not just a matter of preference, but also a way to personalize health benefits.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bat-ngo-ca-phe-khong-caffeine-van-cai-thien-tri-nao-20260428191901718.htm