关于咖啡与抑郁症，你需要知道什么

https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-coffee-and-depression

作者：WebMD 特约撰稿人 医学审核：注册营养师、执业营养师、公共卫生硕士 Kathleen M. Zelman 2025年4月21日

咖啡如何影响你的抑郁症状

过量饮用咖啡的风险

有助于缓解抑郁症的生活方式改变

咖啡因是一种存在于咖啡等食物和饮料中的兴奋剂。喝一杯含咖啡因的咖啡可以提神醒脑，让你摆脱坏心情。这也是为什么美国人每天要喝掉超过6亿杯咖啡的原因之一。

关于咖啡与抑郁症的研究发现，人们在喝咖啡后，抑郁症状往往会减轻。

研究咖啡对身体的影响还发现了其他益处，例如降低患癌症或中风的风险。适量饮用咖啡还可以降低患痴呆症和帕金森病的风险。咖啡豆中含有的保护性化合物，加上咖啡因的作用，可以改善我们的认知能力，并降低患阿尔茨海默病的风险。

咖啡如何影响抑郁症状

抑郁症影响着美国数百万人。抑郁症状的严重程度因人而异。一些最常见的抑郁症状包括对以往喜爱的活动失去兴趣、注意力难以集中以及缺乏精力。被诊断为临床抑郁症的人至少会经历两周的症状。

研究人员开始好奇咖啡中的刺激特性是否能够缓解抑郁症状。一项已发表的研究表明，饮用更多咖啡与抑郁症状的减轻之间存在相关性。另一项针对中年人的研究也得出了类似的结果。

看来，喝咖啡确实可以帮助抑郁症患者。然而，这并不意味着它应该成为你日常饮食的必需品。虽然喝咖啡有一些健康益处，但过量饮用咖啡也会带来一些弊端。

过量饮用咖啡的风险

咖啡因已成为上班族和学生提神醒脑的必备饮品，帮助他们更好地完成工作或学习。美国食品药品监督管理局 (FDA) 认为，每天饮用四杯标准杯咖啡（或摄入 400 毫克咖啡因）通常是安全的。然而，饮用咖啡可能会产生一些副作用，例如烦躁不安、心跳加速和失眠。

每天饮用超过四杯咖啡会加剧这些不良反应。有些人报告出现焦虑加剧、头痛和烦躁不安等症状。《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》（DSM-5，用于评估和诊断精神障碍）将其称为“咖啡因中毒”。

由于咖啡因是一种药物，人们可能会对其产生依赖性。突然戒断咖啡可能会导致疲劳、剧烈头痛和思维不清晰等症状。这些症状可能会抵消咖啡对缓解抑郁的益处。

咖啡中的咖啡因可能会与治疗甲状腺疾病等健康问题的药物产生不良反应。它也可能与治疗精神健康问题的药物产生不良反应。如果您患有糖尿病，过量饮用咖啡会升高血糖水平，使胰岛素更难控制。

绝经后妇女如果每天饮用超过三杯咖啡，可能会因缺钙而导致脊柱骨质流失。其他一些人群，即使是为了缓解抑郁，也应该谨慎饮用咖啡，例如胃酸反流患者或高胆固醇患者。

有助于缓解抑郁的生活方式改变

适量饮用咖啡可以帮助缓解一些抑郁症状。尝试在醒来至少一个小时后再喝第一杯咖啡。这样可以给身体时间产生更多天然能量补充剂——皮质醇。最好等到真正需要的时候再喝咖啡，例如在上午或下午皮质醇水平下降的时候。

如果你平时不怎么喝咖啡，那就尽量只在症状让你感到难以承受时才喝咖啡。睡前避免摄入咖啡因，这样才能保证良好的睡眠。

戒掉含糖饮料有助于缓解抑郁。你仍然可以喝咖啡，但要避免加糖。研究表明，喝不加糖咖啡的人比不喝咖啡的人抑郁程度更低。

另一个可以尝试的非药物疗法是规律运动。运动有助于改善情绪，减轻抑郁症状。你可能会发现，由于运动带来的血清素和内啡肽的增加，你能够逐渐摆脱对咖啡的依赖。

一如既往，你的最好的办法是和医生谈谈你的抑郁症，并和他们讨论不同的治疗方案。

What to Know About Coffee and Depression

Written by WebMD Editorial ContributorMedically Reviewed by Kathleen M. Zelman, RD, LD, MPH on April 21, 2025
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-coffee-and-depression

Caffeine is a stimulant found in food and beverages like coffee. Drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee gives you a boost of energy that can lift you out of a bad mood. It’s one reason why we consume over 600 million cups of coffee in the U.S. each day. 

Research into coffee and depression has found that people tend to experience less severe symptoms when they drink coffee. 

Studies of the effects of coffee on the body have found other positive benefits, like lowering the risk of getting cancer or having a stroke. Drinking coffee in moderation can also reduce our risk of developing dementia and Parkinson’s disease. The protective compounds found in coffee beans, along with the effects of caffeine, can improve our mental cognitive abilities and lower the potential of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

How Coffee Impacts Your Depression Symptoms
Depression affects millions of people throughout the U.S. The severity of depression symptoms varies from person to person. Some of the most common symptoms of depression include having little interest in activities that used to bring you pleasure, difficulty concentrating, and a lack of energy. People diagnosed with clinical depression experience symptoms for at least two weeks. 

Researchers became curious about whether the stimulative properties found in coffee could relieve symptoms of depression. One published study showed a correlation between drinking more coffee and a reduction in the severity of depression symptoms. A separate study focused on middle-aged adults produced similar results.

It appears that drinking coffee can help people diagnosed with depression. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it should become a staple of your diet. While there are some health benefits to drinking coffee, there are also drawbacks to excess coffee consumption. 

The Risks of Drinking Too Much Coffee
Boosts of caffeine have become a staple among working adults and students looking for energy to push through with their jobs or studies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers four regular-sized cups of coffee -- or 400 mg of caffeine per day -- as generally safe. However, drinking coffee can produce side effects like restlessness, a rapid heartbeat, and insomnia.

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day can increase these adverse effects. Some people report having symptoms like heightened anxiety, headaches, and agitation. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is used to assess and diagnose mental disorders, calls it “coffee intoxication”.  

Because caffeine is a drug, people can develop a dependency. Trying to quit cold-turkey on your coffee consumption can produce symptoms like fatigue, pounding headaches, and a lack of mental clarity. That may offset the benefits of drinking coffee to help with depression.

The caffeine in coffee can interact negatively with medications taken to treat health issues like a thyroid disorder. It can also interact negatively with drugs prescribed for mental health issues. If you have diabetes, excessive coffee consumption can increase your blood sugar levels and make it harder to manage your insulin. 

Postmenopausal women who drink more than three cups of coffee per day may start losing bone in their spine because of a lack of calcium. Others who should exhibit caution regarding drinking coffee, even to help with depression, include those with acid reflux or high cholesterol.

Lifestyle Changes That Help With Depression
Drinking coffee in moderation can provide some help with symptoms of depression. Try putting off your first cup of coffee until you’ve been awake for at least an hour. That gives your body time to produce more of a natural energy booster called cortisol. It’s better to put your coffee breaks off until you need them, like the middle of the morning or afternoon when your cortisol levels drop.

If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, try to reserve your coffee drinking for when your symptoms threaten to overwhelm you. Avoid drinking caffeine close to your bedtime so you’re able to get a good night’s sleep. 

Eliminating sweet beverages from your diet can help with depression. You can still incorporate coffee into your diet by not adding sugar. People who drink unsweetened coffee have been shown to feel less depressed than those who don’t drink coffee.

Another non-medical remedy you might want to try to help with depression is regular exercise. It helps elevate your mood and reduce the severity of your depression symptoms. You may find that you’re able to wean yourself off relying on coffee because of the serotonin and endorphin boost you get from increased physical activity. 

As always, your best bet is to speak with a doctor about your depression and talk with them about different treatment options.