If you know me at all, then chances are you know that I'm kind of obsessed with tea. While green and black teas are my favorite, I also like to drink oolong, white, herbal and just about every other type of tea out there. I don't discriminate. I love drinking tea for many reasons. I love the subtle and mellow flavor of green tea and the rich and powerful flavor of chai tea, there's so much variety! I love the way hot tea feels as it cascades smoothly down my throat, warming me both literally and figuratively. In addition to the way it tastes and feels when I drink it, I also love tea for the many health benefits it provides including stress relief and increased brain activity. Maybe after reading this article on the physical and psychological benefits of drinking tea, you will consider making it your new favorite drink too!
Before I dive right in to the technical explanations of how tea effects one’s emotional state, I think it’s important to get a little bit of basic background information about tea first. Besides water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. A vast majority of teas including black, oolong and green tea all come from the processed leaf of a plant called Camellia sinesis, that is all around the world mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. The main difference between different types of tea is the way in which they are processed and their period of oxidation. Oxidation is what produces the flavor of the tea through a chemical process that causes the tea leaves to begin to brown.
Recent studies and research shows that consumption of black tea can aid in quicker recovery from stressful situations at a physiological level. Basically, this means that when you drink black tea, the active ingredients in the tea affect the way in which your body responds to stress. The resulting response is an increase in speed in the recovery process after experiencing stress. The reason that I usually choose to prepare black tea while working on homework or writing papers is precisely because of the quick stress recovery time it triggers in my body when consumed.
In addition to triggering an expedient recovery time from stress when consumed, the calming effect of black tea can often be felt even before you taste it. According to one study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the benefits of the consumption of black tea can occur before, during and after consumption as a result of the interaction of several elements. Black tea has a very strong aromatic character due to its fully fermented oxidation process that often causes one to feel calmed and relaxed simply by smelling it. This helps to explain why I always feel myself beginning to relax just by allowing the strong aromatic scent of the tea to flood my olfactory senses.
For centuries, Asian cultures have been taking advantage of the many benefits green tea has to offer for the mind and body. A new study from Japan states that you may be able to reduce the onset of psychological distress by 20 percent by simply drinking 40 ounces of green tea per day (the equivalent of about five cups). Unlike black tea, green tea does not have as much caffeine, and contains an amino acid called Suntheanine, that generates calmness and relaxation without causing drowsiness. This amino acid has the ability to increase the activity in brain waves which is often attributed to causing a state of relaxation. While Suntheanine does not cause drowsiness, it does aid in helping to provide a more restful night’s sleep. Looking back, I now understand why mom used to make me Sleepytime green tea some nights before I went to bed. The Suntheanine in the tea helps to improve the quality of sleep received. I definitely suggest making yourself a cup of green tea the night before a busy or important day to help insure that you get the most peaceful and recuperative night’s rest possible.
Drinking tea has also proven to be beneficial in other areas of wellness, beyond helping to alleviate stress, induce relaxation and provide a more restful night’s sleep. According to professors at The University College London, who studied the effects tea consumption and mood, drinking tea was found to enrich positive moods and help to sustain alertness throughout the day. I can personally attest to this finding because I always seem to have a much more chipper and happy disposition when I am drinking tea. In an investigation held a few years ago in Japan, it was found that higher consumption of green tea directly correlated with lower depressive symptoms in the individuals involved in the study.
The history of drinking tea in order to yield the many physical and emotional health benefits it provides, dates all the way back to nearly 4,700 years ago in ancient China. In many Asian cultures, drinking tea is often viewed as a meditative ritual to help calm and relax the mind and body. Hopefully, this new found information on the long and rich history of tea drinking in other cultures has provided you with a new perspective of just how important the ritual of drinking tea can be in your own life. Drinking tea is an effective means to help naturally alleviate stress and anxiety, helping to bring you one step closer to a state of total peace and tranquility with every sip. Moral of the story: they key to a more peaceful state of mind, happiness and better health is waiting for you at the bottom of a teacup!
