Morning coffee can stop pain from long sitting hours at work

Researchers from the University of Oslo found that coffee can lower office-related twinges and aches as caffeine is thought to stimulate receptors responsible for blocking pain, the Daily Mail reported.

In the study, volunteers who undertook 90-minutes of intensive screen-based work without a break suffered fewer aches and pains in their neck, shoulders, arms and wrists if they downed a coffee before going to office.

The team recruited 48 full-time office workers who were told they could drink coffee with their breakfast but to limit it to one cup.

The recruits then underwent an hour-and-a-half of computer tasks, which involved correcting typographical errors on a document as fast and as accurately as possible, using only the computer mouse.

They were not allowed to pause at any time and were assessed for their levels of pain throughout the experiment.

Although both drinkers and non-drinkers experienced pain in their shoulders, neck, arms and wrists during the task, coffee consumers reported much lower levels of discomfort.

"The results revealed a significantly lower increase in pain development for the subjects who had consumed coffee approximately one and a half hours before the task, compared to those who abstained," researchers were quoted as saying by the paper.

The study was published in the journal BMC Research Notes.