Researchers at the University of Alabama in Birmingham asked 62 volunteers to record their daily caffeine consumption from coffee, tea, and other beverages and foods such as chocolate to determine whether their levels of consumption were associated with the ability to tolerate pain.

The scientific team found that the volunteers, ages 19 to 77, consumed an average of 170 mg of caffeine each day. That’s about the same amount as two cups of coffee.

The researchers then tested the volunteers’ pain tolerance in the laboratory using heat or pressure to induce pain on each subject’s forearm or back in a controlled manner. The more caffeine consumed, the higher the volunteer’s pain tolerance.

The bottom line: A couple of cups of coffee or the equivalent amount of caffeine from other beverages may very well increase your ability to tolerate pain.