Effects and harms of drinking coffee every day

Many people start their day with a good cup of coffee to wake up and work. This drink has many health benefits but also has some disadvantages.

The study was recently published in the journalNew England Medicineshows that drinking at least one cup of coffee a day has a positive effect on your performance but a negative effect on your sleep. Coffee also increases the risk of irregular heartbeat.

Coffee is a beverage that has many health benefits. Illustration: Tastingtable

According toCNN, scientists looked at data from 100 healthy adults in the San Francisco area (USA), average age 39. They wore devices that tracked their steps and sleep. They also had continuous blood sugar measurements and electrocardiograms to monitor their heart rate.

Participants were asked to drink as much coffee as they wanted for two days, then abstain from coffee for the next two days. They repeated this cycle over a two-week period.

Drinking coffee has many complex health effects, said lead author Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

On days when volunteers drank coffee, their step count increased by an average of 1,058 steps compared to days when they didn't. However, they also slept 36 minutes less.

Coffee drinkers are more motivated to exercise and may perform better. However, Dr Marcus cautions that people should not rely on energy drinks or high doses of caffeine to enhance their workouts.

The reason why people who drink a lot of coffee sleep less may be due to genetic factors, the study notes.

The authors collected DNA samples and found that people who slept less after drinking coffee had certain genetic variations associated with slower caffeine metabolism.

The analysis found that coffee can affect the heart, with one cup a day linked to a 50% higher risk of ventricular premature beats, a type of irregular heartbeat. But the researchers found no evidence of a direct link between coffee drinking and premature atrial contractions.

Therefore, Dr. Marcus assessed: "These results provide some convincing evidence that giving up coffee may be beneficial for people with palpitations related to ventricular premature beats."

“There is also evidence that in some people, premature ventricular contractions can lead to heart failure. So if someone is at risk for heart failure, such as a family history of the disease or has symptoms, they should avoid coffee,” the doctor advised.

Moderating your coffee consumption is a good thing to do for your health. However, Dr Marcus concludes, there is no reason to worry immediately: “People can rest assured that there are definitely no dangerous effects that occur immediately after drinking coffee.”