We all know that coffee can be a great way to wake up in the morning, but did you know that there is an optimum time to drink coffee according to science?
It turns out that the best time to drink coffee is not first thing in the morning. Science says we should wait to take our first sip of morning joe until about an hour or so after we wake up.
If you're like me, my first thought was "Yeah, I'll get right on that a**holes."
But it turns out, there's a pretty solid reason to wait a whole hour to drink coffee in the morning. And it isn't just because it's super inconvenient for people who need coffee to feel awake, or because it’s vaguely "better for your mood," or will "help you live a longer, more fulfilled life" or some other BS.
No, it turns out that there's a very specific, very scientific reason why you should wait to drink coffee, and it has to do with caffeine tolerance.
The body's natural circadian rhythms play a big role in how caffeine affects us. They also play a role in when we naturally wake up and when we naturally start to feel tired again. And one of the ways this happens is through production of cortisol.
Now, I've been at war with the circadians for years—I tense up as soon as someone mentions them. But hear me out:
Cortisol is typically thought of as the "stress hormone." But it's really more like the "alertness hormone."
In the hour after you wake up, the body’s production of cortisol is at one of 3 daily peaks. The other two peaks occur around meal times: noon-ish and 6:00PM-ish.
Drinking coffee (or consuming caffeine in general) while our bodies are at peak cortisol production teaches the body to produce less cortisol. This works directly against cortisol's alertness effects and essentially undermines some of the benefits of the caffeine in coffee.
What's more, this can lead to us developing higher tolerance for caffeine. As our bodies become tolerant to caffeine, we need more and more of it to experience the same effects we used to. Just like when we as a nation tolerated 1 Starbucks per square mile, but now we need 7.
So to get the strongest caffeine jolt, and to avoid developing tolerance, it's best to drink coffee an hour or so after you wake up, when your cortisol levels have naturally dipped.
Of course, this isn't set in stone. If you find that you're more alert and productive if you have coffee first thing in the morning, then by all means, do what works for you.
But if you're struggling to wake up, or find that you need more and more coffee to get going, it might be worth trying this out. Just know that it might take a little bit for your body to adjust.
To learn more about coffee, cortisol, and circadian ryhthms, check out this article by Camille Styles.
Now that you know the best time to drink coffee, make sure you're brewing up a cup of the good stuff. If more energy, more focus, and more productivity is what you're after—and why wouldn't you be?—check out Black Insomnia, the strongest coffee in the world.
