this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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Causation vs correlation. I’m thinking caffeine keeps your brain stimulated which lowers risk of dementia. You can probably equally keep your brain stimulated other ways especially if you already have an active lifestyle.
Could be due to fiber. Reduce cholesterol, improve gut health
My guess is that people who regularly drink coffee are supporting some sort of regular mental activity, like a job or school.
There's no need to attack me so hard
Haha doesn’t have to be physically active
Hahah
Iirc the causality is thought to be about opening vesicles and increasing blood flow in the brain.
Ah interesting. Can that be done equally without caffeine?
Complex question. Many things increase blood flow like physical exercise or even alcohol. While being active for sure is healthy, alcohol combines the positive and the negative so the effect will not be measurable.
Apart from that: caffeine is the only controversial thing in coffee (other studies report different results). Decaf is healthy without doubt. For old people caffeine has no effect on sleeping so we could recommend it for brain health. If you can still feel an effect on your sleep, do what feels best for you.
God made caffeine. Caffeine good for man. End. Of. Story.
It's fine to highlight it's correlation, but your guess is a theory of causation. It's likely either some genetic combo that drives the desire for coffee or some lifestyle arrangement that drives the need.
Even the idea that an inactive mind leads to deterioration isn't definitively causation. Correlation goes both ways. Are they mentally healthy because they're mentally active? Or are they mentally active because they're mentally healthy? The degree of mental deterioration goes up as you age, which is also when you can retire, when you don't have to support your family, when you're physically incapacitated, and when you slow down overall. So yeah, I plan to stay active because I'll take my chances that it helps, but at some point, something will simply break. Maybe I'll inherit the dimentia. Maybe I'll inherit the neuropathy. Maybe both. Maybe neither.
Well...