That morning cup of coffee not only stimulates a person to wakefulness it may also be stimulating their memory and cognitive functioning.

This could be good news as the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to quadruple by 2050.  Any bits and pieces of information that can be gathered in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, no matter how small, could possibly have potential significant public health implications.

The news from findings of a study published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences found that the stimulant caffeine found in coffee appears to have a link between coffee intake and improved long-term memory.

This large, cohort study analyzed 6,467 women aged 65 and older who were part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) which is a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Over 10 years of follow-up, each of the participants had an annual cognitive assessment to help the researchers determine a diagnosis of probable dementia of other cognitive impairment.  Out of the total women, 388 women were diagnosed with some form of dementia.

What the findings from the study showed was that women who consumed more than 261 milligrams of caffeine daily compared to women who consumed less than 64 milligrams of caffeine daily, were 36% less likely to receive a diagnosis of probable dementia or cognitive impairment.

The amount of 261 milligrams of caffeine is equivalent to two to three 8-ounce cups of coffee daily or five to six 8-ounce cups of black tea daily.

Even though the researchers believe this study helps to bring more understanding on how caffeine might benefit cognitive health, it was not able to establish a direct association between caffeine intake and reduced dementia risk and was not able to make the same findings for men.

What is believed to be the reason why caffeine appears to have cognitive benefits is due to the blockade of adenosine A2A receptors (ARs) whose function becomes abnormal as a person agesand is important to the areas of the brain that are relevant to learning and memory.  The ARs are being increasingly investigated as a target for reversing cognitive impairment as studies using animal models have shown that blocking the receptors can reverse Alzheimer’s.

At this time it is not known if the supposed beneficial effects of caffeine come only from drinking coffee or possibly other dietary sources of caffeine.  In the meantime, coffee drinkers can enjoy their morning brew even more than they already do.