Is Drinking Decaf Coffee Good for Caffeine Withdrawal? Why a Recent Study Lied to Heavy Coffee Drinkers
Anyone who has tried to cut back on coffee knows the cost. Headaches, fatigue and brain fog kick in within hours of a missed cup, and the discomfort sends many people right back to the espresso machine. New research points to a surprisingly simple workaround for caffeine withdrawal. A cup of decaf may take the edge off, even when drinkers know there is no caffeine in it.
A 2023 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology tracked 61 heavy coffee drinkers, all accustomed to three or more cups a day, after they went 24 hours without caffeine.
How the Decaf Study Worked
Participants first rated their symptoms and predicted what would happen if they drank caffeinated coffee, decaf or water. Researchers then split them into three groups. One group received decaf but was told it was the real thing. A second group received decaf and was told the truth. A control group received water and was told it was water. Forty-five minutes later, everyone rated their symptoms again.
The deception group reported the steepest drop in symptoms. The group that knowingly drank decaf also improved, though less dramatically. The water group did not improve at all.
“The group we lied to reported a big drop in caffeine withdrawal even though there’s no pharmacological reason why it should. Because they expected their withdrawal to go down, it did go down,” Dr. Llew Mills, a senior research associate at the School of Addiction Medicine, said, per The University of Sydney.
“In other words, a placebo effect. We’ve found this in several studies now.”
Why Decaf Still Helps When You Know It Is Decaf
The surprise finding involved what scientists call an open-label placebo. People felt better even when they were told outright that their drink contained no caffeine.
“What was interesting in this new study is that withdrawal symptoms also reduced even when people knew they were getting decaf. Not as much as the group we lied to, but a significant amount,” Mills said.
Mills and his team think years of habit train the brain to associate the taste and smell of coffee with relief. The lift people feel from a morning cup, they argue, is partly the easing of overnight withdrawal. Decaf can trigger that conditioned response on its own, even with no caffeine present.
“Funnily enough, they actually expected water to reduce their withdrawal more than decaf,” Mills said. “Withdrawal in the group we gave water to didn’t drop at all, whereas the people who were given decaf experienced a significant reduction. The reduction they experienced was contrary to what they expected would happen when they were given water and decaf.”
What It Means if You Want to Cut Back on Caffeine
The researchers were careful about the limits of the finding. Decaf is not a permanent fix, and the effect likely fades with repeated use.
“But a cup of decaf could help someone who is trying to cut back their caffeine intake to temporarily ride out the worst of the cravings and help them stay caffeine-free,” Mills said.
The study also hints at something larger. If expectations and conditioning can ease withdrawal from caffeine, similar tools might one day help with dependence on other substances.
“We did this study to model some of the processes involved in addiction to any drug, including more serious, or harmful, drugs,” Mills said. “What we found has some promise for developing new treatments for addiction that integrate placebo effects.”
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
