Tea breaks boost mood and creativity

Tea breaks boost mood and creativity
The act of preparing and drinking a cup of tea boosts mood and creative potential, according to new research.

The work was conducted by researchers for Lipton, but later independently reviewed and accepted by a scientific journal.

“These findings appear to confirm what many of us suspect; that the close to sacred ritual of the tea break can effectively boost your mood, which in turn can lead to other benefits such as improved problem solving,” said lead scientist Suzanne Einother.

“We suspect this effect is down to a combination of elements including aspects of tea preparation and the taste and aroma during consumption as well as simply taking a break from other activities.”

Carried out on 150 self-professed “tea drinkers”, group one were asked to make a cup of tea using hot water, milk and sugar as they usually would, before drinking it. Group two was given some sweets, while group three were given a glass of water.

Afterwards, the test conductors asked the participants to recount a recent happy event, take part in word games, draw an alien creature and solve anagram puzzles.

According to the results, the group of tea drinkers had a deeper desire for success than those given water, and a faster response time when facing challenges.

“There was a significant effect of the condition on valence – pleasure – and arousal,” the research paper read. “Water consumption provoked lower pleasantness than tea consumption.”

The next time your boss is chastising your regular tea breaks, you may want to present these findings to him.

The results are set to be published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

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