Drinking tea every day can help you recover more quickly from the general stresses of daily life, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers. New scientific evidence shows that black tea has an effect on stress hormone levels in the body.

The results of the study found that people who drank tea were able to de-stress more quickly than those who drank a fake tea substitute. Participants who drank a cup of black tea, four times a day for six weeks were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood after a stressful event, compared with a control group who drank the fake or placebo tea for the same period of time.

UCL researchers also found that blood platelet activation - linked to blood clotting and the risk of heart attacks - was lower in the tea drinkers, and that this group reported a greater degree of relaxation in the recovery period after completing stressful tasks. Researchers do not yet know which ingredients of the tea are responsible for these effects.

Source: Psych Central