The health benefits of tea have been studied for millennia but we are only just starting to understand its effect on mental wellbeing. Here’s a primer for Mental Health Month this October.

The legend of the discovery of tea places it at the beginning of medicine; China’s mythical emperor Shennong is not only known as the Divine Farmer, having gifted agriculture to the people, he is also the pioneer for herbal medicine. Shennong was a curious guy and he liked to eat herbs to determine their effects. On the day he accidentally poisoned himself, he also accidentally discovered a cure – tea. Thus began tea’s origin story as a catchall medicine.

It took a few millennia for tea to become the beverage it is today, but the echoes of its healthful properties still resonate. Many scientific studies are designed to qualify the effects of regular tea-drinking, from boosting your immune system to preventing cancer and heart disease. Less well documented, however, is its effect on mental health, though evidence is starting to grow of benefits here too.

L-theanine, the amino acid readily available in tea, is a known relaxant that relieves stress and anxiety. Studies featuring electroencephalogram (EEG) tests, which measure electrical activity in the brain, suggest that L-theanine may control aspects of human brain function making you alert but also relaxed. Further to this, L-theanine seems to increase serotonin and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels – two neurotransmitters that reduce anxiety and support sleep.

These are physiological effects, which means each tea-drinker’s experience will vary based on their own biology. However, it’s becoming clear that tea assists mental health in other ways. The first is that the ritual of making tea lends itself to mindfulness, which can support management of depression, anxiety and anger management.

The second is its association with social connection. In many cultures, tea is a lubricant for talking therapy; it is a signifier of hospitality, of making time, of paying attention. Isolation has been linked to poor physical and mental health; on the mental side it contributes to emotional distress, suicide and the development of dementia, among other issues. Because pandemic measures have often exacerbated the effect of social isolation, it is imperative that we as a society learn to reconnect. Taking tea together can be part of the solution.

As the saying goes, “If tea can’t fix it, it’s a serious problem.”

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 5 October 2022. Mailchimp no longer allows external links to the original newsletter.