Mindfl Tea's owner has a PhD in neuroscience and a certification in teaching mindfulness meditation. She has selected teas from around the world that enhance mindfulness and a mindful life using science, mindfulness, and compassion.

Mindfl Tea's green, oolong, and black teas are from the Camellia sinensis plant, native to China, southeast Asia, and India. So, how does tea work in your brain and body? First, tea increases dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine signaling in the brain. Dopamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine are molecules that mediate some of the communication between nerve cells (neurons). Dopamine is important in rewarding experiences and reward learning. The increased dopamine, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine signaling that tea causes leads to increased concentration and increased cognitive performance (Suhail et. al. 2021). The caffeine in tea also promotes wakefulness and inhibits sleep. The increased wakefulness and ability to concentrate that drinking tea causes is useful for mindfulness meditation.

There are many signaling cascades that occur when tea with caffeine is ingested, and one example of this is shown in the image. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors (Ribeiro 2010), shown as a caffeine molecule in a similar shape to an adenosine molecule, lodging in the adenosine receptor and preventing adenosine from binding. The result of this blockade is that adenosine, which inhibits a process involved in excitatory transmission, is blocked by caffeine, resulting in greater excitation.

In particular, the blockade of adenosine receptors in the striatum, a brain region involved in regulating fear responses, motor control, and learning and memory, is an important site of caffeine's actions.

In addition to increasing wakefulness, increasing concentration, and increasing cognitive performance, drinking tea has many other effects on the brain and body. For example, caffeine has been shown to increase physical performance by stimulating the cardiovascular system. Regular caffeine intake through beverages like tea also decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease (Ribeiro 2010) and prevent motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (Ren 2020). Furthermore, drinking tea leads to a decrease in depression (Iranpour et al. 2019), indicating that tea can improve mental health. The increased concentration, increased cognitive performance, and elevation of mood are what inspired us to create our slogan "Brighten your thoughts and emotions with Mindfl Tea." The L-theanine in tea leads to increased relaxation, and the anti-oxidant actions of flavonals in tea help protect against cancer. Finally, the anti-inflammatory effects of catechins in tea lead to improved immune system functioning.

In conclusion, drinking tea leads to many beneficial effects in your brain and body, including increasing wakefulness, concentration, cognitive performance, physical performance, relaxation, preventing cancer, and enhancing immune system functioning. One example given for how tea accomplishes its effects is the blockade of adenosine receptors. So the next time you drink tea, know that you are doing something healthy for yourself!

References

Iranpour S, Sabour S. Psychiatry Res. 2019 Jan;271:732-739.

McClellan et. al. Neurosci Biobeh. Rev. 2016. Dec:71:294-312.

Ren X, Chen JF. Front Neurosci. 2020 Dec 17;14:602697.

Ribeiro and Sebastiao. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010:20 Suppl 1:S3-15.

Suhail et. al. Cureus. 2021 Dec 30;13(12):e20828.