Relieve Stress by Drinking Black Tea

Tea is the world’s second most loved drink, that is, after water. To most people in fact, tea isn’t merely just about drinking up – it’s a culture transcending generations to generations. But most importantly, tea is known worldwide for its diverse health benefits. Numerous benefits, which medical professionals and researchers venture on in-depth research to prove these health claims.

Through the years, people have been drinking tea in the belief that it helps relieve stress. In fact, it has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine where it originated in the 16th century.

Today, some research studies have already backed up claims of tea’s ability to help reduce stress.

Black Tea

One particular study has established evidence that supports black tea’s ability to reduce stress.  This study was conducted by the researchers from the University College London (UCL) and is published in the medical journal Psychopharmacology.

The subjects involved regular tea drinkers. 75 young men were divided into two groups, one group taking a caffeinated tea containing components of an average black tea. The other group was under a placebo set-up, consuming a caffeinated drink identical to that of the first group, only devoid of black tea’s active components. The drinks given to both groups were prepared in a way that hide distinct sensory cues pointing to that of black tea such as smell and taste.

Participants from both groups gave up their normal tea and other caffeinated drinks. They underwent a six-week observation period, where they experienced tasks mimicking stress-inducing situations such as threats of unemployment and shoplifting accusations. Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones, and subjective stress ratings were monitored. 50 minutes after the tasks, results suggest that tea drinkers, specifically loose leaf tea, get lower cortisol levels (an average of 47% in the tea drinking group against the 27% in the placebo group). Cortisol is a hormone released by the body in response to stress.

Another finding is that blood platelets of the black tea drinkers were lower as opposed to their placebo counterparts. Levels of blood platelets relate to blood clotting and consequently linked to risks of heart attack. Extremely high platelet count induces abnormal blood clotting that may result in heart attacks and stroke.

But perhaps the most significant finding is that participants from the black tea drinking group have experienced greater grade of relaxation and have reported lesser feel of stress during their recovery period.

Further research is yet required to pinpoint which of black tea’s components is responsible for this calming effect, but this however, is a huge milestone for the benefit of human health.

Will Bailey