Drinking up to three to four cups of coffee could help slow aging for people with severe mental illnesses, a major study has found.

Researchers at King’s College London looked at 436 participants with mental health conditions ranging from schizophrenia to major depressive disorder.

Participants were asked how many cups of coffee they drank a day, with the options of 0, 1-2 cups, 3-4 cups and 5 or more cups.

The study ultimately found that drinking more coffee can create a longer life span for telomeres, protective caps on our chromosomes that shorten as we age.

The process is accelerated among people with severe mental illness, whose average life expectancy is 15 years shorter than the general population.

White blood cells are commonly used to measure telomere lengths, so blood samples were taken from every participant.

The study, published in the MJ Mental Health Journal, found the people who drank 3-4 cups of coffee had the longest telomeres. However drinking five or more cups led to telomere lengths showing a drop.

“We know that coffee can help slow biological aging in the general population, but little is known about its effect on people with severe mental illness – a population whose lifespan is already shortened, in part due to age-related diseases,” study co-author Vid Mlakar said.

“Our study shows that up to four cups of coffee per day is linked to longer telomeres among people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This is comparable to a biological age of five years younger than non-coffee drinkers.”

Source: AOL