5 Reasons To Have Another Cup Of Joe

Nothing reminds us how beautiful and magical that steaming hot liquid pot of gold is than Mondays. One sip of coffee can take us from this:

to this:

But aside from being the true quicker picker upper (sorry, Bounty), why else might coffee be a true life saver and best friend in your life?

1. Coffee IS the elixir of life.

According to 20 separate studies with more than 970,000 people involved, coffee gives you a 14 percent lower risk of dying prematurely. This drink truly is the key to a longer life.

2. Beans, beans, they're good for your heart; the more you drink, the less you die from heart disease.

Seriously, though. A meta study found that the more coffee a person drinks a day, the lower risk they will have of contracting and suffering from a cardiovascular disease. This is good news, because heart disease is leading cause of death in the U.S.

This is in terms of a long-term risk of heart disease. High intakes of caffeine can increase blood pressure in the short term and plasma homocysteine, which is a large risk factor for heart disease, so either drink in moderation or try decaf every now and then.

3. It can prevent type 2 diabetes.

According to over 28 studies of coffee, those who drink three cups a day or more could reduce their chance of contracting type 2 diabetes by 21 percent! Researchers at UCLA found that drinking coffee "increases plasma levels of the protein sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), [which] controls the biological activity of the body's sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen) which play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes."

In other words, coffee helps your body control those hormones that are out of whack when diabetes is brought into the mix! The risk was lower for both regular and decaffeinated coffee drinkers, so if the caffeine is a little much for you, there's still benefits in going decaf!

4. Caffeine can help you remember that one time in the eighth grade...

... but not where you put your keys. A 2014 post-study on caffeine administration found that it stimulated and strengthen memory consolidation, but not retrieval. This means that long-term memories are safe, but short-term memories are still up in the air. Just be sure to pair your daily cup of joe with an adequate amount of sleep each night and your memories will be golden.

5. Just the smell can wake up your brain.

A study in 2008 revealed that the mere aroma of coffee could bring its own benefits and stimulate the brain. They used rats as test subjects (yes, yes, I know, a novel idea) and found that some levels of brain proteins were changed from sniffing coffee beans in a potentially calming effect. They could also have antioxidant functions. So sniff that bean!

Coffee is beautiful. Coffee is love. Coffee is life. Drink up, my friends, and be merry. Have a wonderful Monday and remember -- it's good for you (kinda)! So fill 'er up!