Stressed-out journalists are drinking more coffee than any other professional group according to a survey published this week.

Out of 10,000 professionals who took part in a survey conducted by Pressat, 85pc said they drink at least three cups of coffee a day, while nearly 70pc admitted that their working ability would be affected without a daily mug of coffee.

A league table of professions showed that journalists were most likely to rely on a daily dose of caffeine, ahead of police officers in 2nd place and teachers in 3rd.

The survey organisers said the results pointed to a clear link between coffee consumption and stressful careers.

“It seems that drinking coffee is a necessity on the job in a wide variety of professions. The highest consumers, sinking over four cups daily, were those with stressful careers: journalists consumed the most, followed closely by police officers and teachers,” they said.

“Could it be that being overstretched or working late pushed the workforce to consume more caffeine?”

On average the survey found that men drink around 5pc more coffee than women.

The full league table of coffee drinking was as follows:

1.    Journalists and media staff
2.    Police officers
3.    Teachers
4.    Plumbers and trade workers
5.    Nurses and medical staff
6.    Company executives
7.    Telesales
8.    IT technical support
9.    Retail staff
10.    Drivers