Enjoying coffee and tea from the office coffee service may provide San Diego employees with additional health benefits. Scientists from Boston Children’s Hospital recently found that consuming caffeine may help decrease pain sensitivity in those with chronic pain. The consumed caffeine caused dopamine, a carrier of messages between nerve cells in the brain, to flood the brain’s pleasure center resulting in decreased pain sensitivity, a huge benefit for chronic pain suffers.
Healthy levels of dopamine help regulate emotions, cognition, food intake, and the endocrine system. Chronic pain, on the other hand, often causes endocrine, cardiovascular, immune, neurological, and musculo-skeletal system problems resulting in decreased immune health, spikes in blood pressure, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, and disruptions of daily activities. It appears that caffeine causes a boost in dopamine which works against some of the negative effects of chronic pain.
This new information is great news for the 25.3+ million adults who live with chronic pain. But caffeine has other benefits that can improve workplace productivity too. Caffeine has been known to decrease fatigue, offer short term mental boost, and improve memory. Coffee, tea, and chocolate are a few of the more familiar sources of caffeine. The different levels of caffeine in caffeinated beverages is a result of different places of origin, varying processing and preparation methods (including brewing time), and the amount of milk or cream added.
Typical levels of caffeine in tea and coffee include:
- Coffee: 8 fl oz. mug includes 95 mg to 165 mg
- Espresso: 1 fl oz. shot includes 47 mg to 64 mg
- Black Tea: 8 fl oz. mug includes 25 mg to 48 mg
- Green Tea: 8 fl oz. mug includes 25 mg to 29 mg
- Ready-to-Drink Bottled Tea: 8 fl oz. bottle includes 5 mg to 40 mg
If coffee and tea have too much caffeine or are too acidic for your San Diego employee, enjoying a bar of dark chocolate or a mug of hot cocoa from the office break room is another option. Both dark chocolate and hot cocoa have less caffeine than the traditional office coffee service choices.
Typical levels of caffeine in chocolate include:
- Hot Cocoa: 8 fl oz. mug includes 9 mg
- Dark Chocolate: 3.5 oz. bar with 70% to 80% cocoa includes 80mg
- Dark Chocolate: 3.5 oz. bar with 50% to 69% cocoa includes 70mg
- Milk Chocolate: 3.5 oz. bar includes 20 mg
Consider offering all of your San Diego employees the chance to enjoy a caffeine pick-me-up while at work. Whether enjoying coffee or tea from the office coffee service or a bar of dark chocolate from the vending machine, there is an option for everyone. For more information about adding coffee service or updating your micro-market options, call Tri-R Coffee & Vending at (760) 753-1112.