A steamy cup of coffee can keep us going (Picture: Getty Images)
Have you ever given in to an afternoon caffeine kick, only to be tossing and turning halfway through the night?
It may not come to mind, but experts now say that decaf coffee is enough to satisfy your caffeine cravings without keeping you up until sunrise.
Australian academics say that decaf — despite the fact that it contains trace amounts of the stimulant — has the ability to keep caffeine withdrawal symptoms at bay.
Scientists from the University of Sydney tested the simple decaf trick on 61 coffee lovers, who all consumed at least three cups every day.
They all spent a tough 24 hours without caffeine of any kind.
Afterwards, the researchers then rated participant’s caffeine withdrawal symptoms before allocating them into three groups.
Two groups were given a cup of decaf coffee, while the third group were given water.
An afternoon pick me up may be replaced with a cup of decaf (Picture: Getty Images)
With the two coffee groups, one was told that they had a cup of decaf, while the other group were told that it was normal, fully caffeinated coffee.
After 45 minutes, volunteers were asked to rate their caffeine withdrawal symptoms again.
Before the experiment began, participants expected caffeinated coffee to reduce their withdrawal symptoms the most, followed by water and decaf.
However, the researchers, whose work was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found the group who were lied to reported ‘a big drop in caffeine withdrawal, even though there’s no pharmacological reason why it should.’
However, researchers admitted that the reduction in withdrawal symptoms is likely only short-lived.
Drinking decaf coffee forever wouldn’t reduce withdrawal symptoms completely – with further research needed.
‘What was interesting in this new study is that withdrawal symptoms also reduced even when people knew they were getting decaf,’ says Dr Llewellyn Mills, who led the study.
‘Not as much as the group we lied to, but a significant amount.’
He also said that decaf could help someone who is trying to cut back on their caffeine to temporarily ‘ride out the worst of the cravings’ and help them stay caffeine free.
‘This study shows cognitive factors like what you expect, and how much of a drug you think you have in your body, have a big effect on how you experience withdrawal symptoms.’
The research is the latest in an enormous line of coffee-related studies –assessing the hot beverage’s impact on health.
Scientists have already linked coffee to numerous benefits, including supporting liver health and a lowering the risk of depression or type 2 diabetes.
However, medics remain divided, warning that excessive amounts of coffee — packed full of caffeine — can actually damage the heart.
