Forget what the early birds tell you, mornings are hard. While they are out catching the metaphorical worm, some of us need a little helping hand getting up and about in the morning, and that help often looks, smells and tastes like coffee.
That little boost of caffeine can kickstart your day, elevating energy levels and alertness. But when is the perfect time to have that first cup?
“When you first wake up in the morning, you get a hit of cortisol which is a stress hormone. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we need stress to get up, go to work and do things in our life,” says Kirsten Jackson, founder of The Food Treatment Clinic and a consultant gastroenterology dietitian.
“Cortisol is normally at its highest level between 7 to 8am depending on sleep cycles. That’s what gets us up and going in the morning, kickstarting our blood sugar levels which we need for energy.”
So what does all of this have to do with coffee? Well like cortisol, caffeine, which we get from coffee, is boosting our energy levels. It is a stimulant that increases activity in our brain and nervous system, but it also increases the circulation of chemicals like cortisol.
Because cortisol is already at its highest level first thing in the morning, a coffee at the same time is somewhat nullified, not giving the full benefits that we often need at the start of the day.
This isn’t to say you should deprive yourself of a morning cup of Joe. Just that planning around your cortisol levels can get the most out of coffee.
That spike only lasts for a short period of time. By holding out until 10-11am for your first cup, you can get the best of both worlds, enjoying a natural boost from your body, followed by a second from a hot brew.
When is the perfect time to drink your coffee?
It is not just morning cortisol levels that are worth considering when planning your coffee routine. Coffee, or caffeine more specifically, can play a major role in our sleep cycles.
“In science, we often talk about half-lives, or how long it takes something in your body to break down. With caffeine, it takes ten hours on average to get out of your system. If you’re drinking it at midday, it will still be in your system at 10pm,” says Jackson.
“Caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors which makes you sleepy. If there’s caffeine still in the system, it’s going to limit this and stop you getting a good night’s sleep.”
With burnout and sleep deprivation being so prevalent in modern society, we might not always notice this effect, but an afternoon coffee can contribute to a restless night's sleep.
With this in mind, to not have caffeine limiting your sleep, coffee shouldn’t be drunk past midday.
“This doesn’t mean you should hammer down three cups of coffee in the morning to keep you going all day. It works like a queue to be broken down. Caffeine can stack up in your body and can have lasting impacts right through the day,” says Jackson.
What this amounts to is a rather specific way to drink coffee that our body agrees with - one cup of coffee between the hours of 10 and 12. While it is by no means the end of the world, caffeine outside of this time is fighting either your bedtime or morning cortisol.
About our expert
Kirsten Jackson aka ‘The IBS Dietitian’ is a UK consultant registered dietitian specialising in irritable bowel syndrome. She founded The Food Treatment Clinic in 2015. The service provides specialist gastroenterology advice for a range of conditions. Since then, the clinic has grown to include both adult and paediatric services which can be accessed all over the world via video link. The clinic also offers free training for doctors.
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