Most people worry that drinking coffee may cause insomnia, but they ignore the opportunities that coffee can improve health.

Caffeine is the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world, giving us an extra mental boost and more energy to complete tasks, but people often worry that they should limit their coffee consumption or cut it out altogether. This may be because of the caffeine in coffee. If you exceed the 400 mg limit per day, this can cause insomnia, irritability or a rapid heartbeat, but most studies on coffee consumption show that coffee is not bad for us and is associated with good health. Even people who drink more than five or six cups of coffee a day are healthier than those who drink less or no coffee.

In most cases, we can’t say that coffee actually provides health benefits – the causal mechanisms are unclear. But studies do show that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop certain diseases.

Liver health: A review of nine studies found that drinking more coffee was associated with a reduced risk of cirrhosis. Drinking one cup of coffee a day was shown to be associated with a 22% lower risk of cirrhosis, which is often caused by heavy alcohol consumption. Two cups a day were associated with a 43% lower risk, three cups with a 57% lower risk, and four cups with a 65% lower risk.

Heart disease: A review of more than 200 studies found that people who drank three to four cups of coffee a day were 19% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

Type 2 diabetes: A large review of studies found that each additional cup of coffee a person drank per day was associated with a 7% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Cancer: One review found that heavy coffee drinkers (at least three cups a day) had an 18% lower risk of cancer.

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia: A meta-analysis of studies on coffee intake and brain health calculated that regular coffee drinkers were approximately 16% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, dementia, or cognitive decline.

Depression: A large study of more than 50,000 women showed that drinking at least one cup of coffee per week was associated with a 15% lower risk of depression. Drinking two to three cups per day was associated with a 20% lower risk.

So drinking some coffee properly is quite beneficial.