Your cup of coffee isn’t just some miracle stimulant helping you feel somewhat human in the mornings (just me?) – multiple pieces of research suggest it’s linked to slower biological ageing, too.
Studies have shown that coffee has been linked to health benefits ranging from improved heart health to decreased dementia risk. Here’s what you need to know about how it could also slow biological ageing processes:
How is my caffeine habit impacting ageing?
Firstly, coffee has been linked to telomere lengthening. Telomeres are structures that protect DNA – as people get older, their telomeres shorten as part of the natural ageing process.
We know telomere shortening is accelerated among people with severe mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, whose life expectancy is typically shorter than the general population by up to 15 years.
A study, published in BMJ Mental Health, found drinking a maximum of 3-4 cups of coffee a day may slow the biological ageing of people with severe mental illness, by lengthening their telomeres.
King’s College London researchers found coffee-drinking was linked to the equivalent of five extra years lifespan, compared with non-coffee drinkers.
And the type of coffee you opt for could also impact your telomeres.
Another paper published in the journal NPJ Science of Food found consuming filtered coffee was linked to lower biological age acceleration scores and longer telomeres. Meanwhile, those who opted for instant coffee had higher age-acceleration scores and shorter telomeres.
There’s also some research suggesting caffeine affects ageing by tapping into an ancient cellular energy system. It was first thought caffeine impacted something called TOR (Target of Rapamycin) – a biological switch that tells cells when to grow, based on how much food and energy is available.
But in a 2025 study, scientists from Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Molecular Cell Biology uncovered that caffeine doesn’t act on this growth switch directly. Instead, it activates another important system called AMPK, a cellular fuel gauge that is evolutionarily conserved in humans.
“When your cells are low on energy, AMPK kicks in to help them cope,” said Dr Charalampos (Babis) Rallis, the study’s senior author. “And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.”
The researchers suggested caffeine’s effect on AMPK influences how cells grow, repair their DNA, and respond to stress, which are all linked to ageing.
“These findings help explain why caffeine might be beneficial for health and longevity,” said study author Dr John-Patrick Alao. “And they open up exciting possibilities for future research into how we might trigger these effects more directly – with diet, lifestyle, or new medicines.”
Another paper published in Nutrients suggested a protein called NR4A1 might also be involved. NR4A1 receptors are involved in a range of biological processes from tissue repair to metabolism, and play a part in protecting the body from stress-induced damage.
After looking closer at both coffee and this protein, researchers found that some parts of the caffeinated drink seemed to bind to NR4A1 and change its activity level.
They also saw that compounds in the coffee seemed to reduce cell damage and slow cancer cell growth in lab models, an effect that disappeared when NR4A1 was removed from cells.
The best way to take your coffee
Taking it black without sugar may be best to reap the benefits of longevity and better health outcomes – and drinking it after breakfast could boost its health benefits further.
If you’re pregnant, the NHS advises sticking to around 200mg of caffeine or less a day. People with caffeine sensitivity, heart issues, digestive problems and high blood pressure might also want to limit the amount they consume.
Among the general population, the sweet spot seems to be up to four cups a day (400mg of caffeine).
Anything more than that can have negative effects on health, such as reducing sleep quality, speeding up heart rate and making you feel anxious.
