Looking for a way to unwind this weekend? How about a cup of tea?
You don't have to be an avid watcher of the news to know things have been a little tense around America recently. Between the election, the day to day grind, weather issues and more it's understandable that many people are feeling the strain around the country right now. Lucky for you we something that may help with all that built up tension.
Brewing a fresh cup of tea. We're sure you've heard of the multitude of healthy benefits to drinking a cup of tea. But, did you know that the actual process of brewing tea itself can help relieve anxiety? Let us explain.
In 2009 Dr Malcolm Cross and Rita Michaels, psychologists at the City University London, conducted an experiment to see if drinking tea can help reduce people's anxiety. While the study was based more around the healthy attributes of drinking tea Dr. Cross and Michaels found something interesting. The act of simply brewing tea helped reduce their study group's anxiety. Here is how.
The Experiment:
For the experiment, Cross and Michaels put the 42 volunteers into two evenly-sized groups: a tea group and a non-tea group, and then asked them to complete two widely used and validated psychological tests. The participants then completed a stress-inducing mental task that had to be done by a certain time. After the stress test, the volunteers in the tea group were given a cup of tea and the volunteers in the non-tea group just had a glass of water. Both groups then completed the anxiety questionnaire again.
The Results:
What the two doctors found while studying the group is that after being put through a serious of stressful situations the anxiety level in the tea drinking group actually fell below their pre-task level. They said they also noticed a difference in social behavior between the tea group and the non tea group when they took their drinks after the stress task. The non tea group drank their water in silence, while the tea group chatted amongst themselves. Cross and Michaels wrote that: "The tea appeared to catalyze conversation, and helped build rapport both between the participant and tea-maker (research assistant) and amongst the wider group." Meaning that not only did drinking tea help reduce stress but also the social aspect of brewing tea.
That's right. Apparently just brewing tea, even around a group of strangers, can help alleviate stress and build common ground. So, if you're looking for an easy way to relieve all that post election stress grab a bag or two of our H.C. Valentine loose leaf tea, a couple tea bags and have yourself a brew party.
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