Drinking tea regularly helps to improve brain health

It is well known that drinking tea can refresh the brain, and the benefits of tea to the brain go beyond that. A new study finds that regular tea drinkers have healthier brain structures in old age, helping to slow down cognitive decline.

An international research team led by the National University of Singapore recently published a paper in the American Journal of Aging. Tea ingredients can directly affect the connections between brain regions. Regular drinking of tea helps the brain resist age-related structural changes.

The team took 36 people over 60 years of age as subjects. From 2015 to 2018, they collected information about their physical status, lifestyle, mental health status, and carried out neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging. By analyzing their cognitive performance and imaging results, the researchers found that people who drank tea at least four times a week over the past 25 years, whether green tea, oolong tea or black tea, had more efficient connections between brain regions than those who did not drink tea.

The researchers explained that, for example, when roads are well planned, vehicles and pedestrians travel more efficiently, and when brain regions are better connected, the brain processes information more efficiently.

The team found in 2017 that drinking tea every day reduces the risk of cognitive decline by 50% in old age. This study further confirms this conclusion. Researchers say that the brain of tea drinkers can avoid interference with ineffective connections and help slow down cognitive decline. 

The next step of the team is to study the relationship between the specific components of tea and cognitive ability, and explore possible interventions to protect people's cognitive ability in the process of aging.