From cold and refreshing cold brew and iced coffee to hot tea, a new study suggests that the temperature of your drink may have an impact on your mood, digestion, and sleep. A recently published study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that the temperature of beverages and food had clear links to gut discomfort, anxiety, and insomnia.
The study, which was led by San Diego State University, followed 400 Caucasian or Asian adults in the U.S and identified a correlation between the temperature of food and drink consumed and mental and digestive health (something that has long been recognized in traditional Asian medicine).
Study findings suggest that choosing cold beverages during warmer months caused increased anxiety and sleep disturbances, while drinking warmer beverages during cooler months was linked to lower levels of anxiety, depression, and fewer digestive complaints. The newly published study marks an important shift, as this is the first study in the U.S. to directly link the consumption of cold and hot beverages to various health outcomes. The study findings were also different between Asian and Caucasian participants.
According to researchers involved in the study, the next step is to go further to examine how hot and cold food and beverage consumption can affect these factors in more controlled studies. Given that cold and hot food consumption is a large part of routine in the daily lives of Americans, further study findings have the potential to greatly change how consumers make everyday health choices.
