Coffee – It’s habit forming

When you wake in the morning do you reach for a cup of coffee first thing? Ever wondered if it is out of habit or because you’re simply tired?

Well, researchers at The University of Southern California took this idea and conducted a study recently on a group of college students who all drank coffee and asked the question whether they drank coffee because of an “inner state,” such as tiredness, or because of habit.

The study participants said tiredness was approximately twice as influential as habit in their choice to drink coffee.

However, after studying the students’ behaviours and levels of tiredness for a week, the researchers found that habit was approximately equally as influential as tiredness in coffee consumption

The researchers discovered that participants “strongly overestimated” the effects of tiredness on their coffee consumption even when they were offered financial incentives to accurately explain why they drink coffee.