The majority of people drink coffee in the morning but some take it at other times of the day, such as before working out, at work, or even after supper.
While there are several health benefits associated with coffee use, such as decreased risk of liver cancer and type 2 diabetes as well as improved exercise performance, some individuals are curious about the potential effects of timing while drinking caffeine.
These are the optimal times to consume coffee to encourage peaceful sleep, increase energy levels, and lose weight. Find out how drinking coffee at different times of the day impacts your body.
How your body reacts to coffee during the day
Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system that increases alertness and energy levels. In addition to influencing blood sugar levels, sleep quality, and hormone levels, caffeine can also impact your energy levels.
Morning
Since a cup of coffee contains about 92 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, it can help you feel more energized and awake in the morning. However, others contend that because coffee affects your blood sugar and certain hormones, drinking it first thing in the morning may be harmful to your health.
Cortisol
Some believe that coffee negatively affects the stress hormone cortisol, thus they avoid drinking it first thing in the morning. Cortisol regulates immunological response, metabolism, inflammation, and stress, among other things.
Even while cortisol is necessary for good health, high cortisol levels are harmful to the body and have been connected to diseases like hypertension (high blood pressure), high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and excess belly fat.
Research indicates that consuming caffeinated coffee doesn’t significantly influence the cortisol levels of persons who frequently drink coffee, despite some studies showing that caffeine can briefly elevate cortisol levels in specific populations, such as those under stress.
Regular caffeine use did not significantly alter baseline cortisol levels or cause cortisol variations, according to a 148-person study. Nonetheless, the study discovered that when subjects were put in stressful settings, caffeine intake raised cortisol levels. This implies that while drinking caffeinated coffee won’t always raise your cortisol levels, you might want to limit your consumption if you’re experiencing high amounts of stress, such as when you’re ill, sleep-deprived, or having a very difficult day.
Blood sugar level
For improved blood sugar control, you may wish to postpone your daily cup of coffee, even though there’s no solid evidence to support delaying your morning coffee due to its cortisol-producing effects.
In a different study, coffee consumption the night after a sleepless night had a detrimental effect on participants’ glucose tolerance, or the body’s ability to use and control blood sugar. This study involved 29 individuals. The sleep-deprived individuals’ blood sugar reaction to a sugary drink increased by approximately 50% when they drank 300 mg of caffeine-containing black coffee 30 minutes beforehand.
This implies that consuming coffee right before a meal, especially one that has a lot of sugar, may make it more difficult for your body to maintain normal blood sugar levels, particularly after a restless or interrupted night. It can be preferable to eat a high-protein breakfast before brewing your morning coffee if you suffer from high blood sugar or trouble sleeping.
Afternoon
Drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages may help you perform better and have more energy when working out at the gym or in other locations, resulting in a more efficient workout. For optimal effects, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) advises drinking caffeine-containing items, such as coffee, around 60 minutes before doing exercise.
Coffee consumption in the afternoon can also improve your mental performance at work or school. Many people grab a cup of coffee to boost their productivity and performance during the workday since it can raise alertness and improve brain function.
It is crucial to remember that consuming coffee in the afternoon, or even earlier in the day, may cause sleep disturbances, particularly for those who are caffeine-sensitive. Caffeinated coffee should be avoided 6-8.8 hours before bed, according to some research.
Although people’s tolerance to caffeine varies, it is advisable to stop drinking caffeinated beverages 8 hours or less before bed if you are sensitive to the stimulant.
Evening
Most caffeine-sensitive individuals avoid drinking coffee in the evening, especially right before bed, because it contains caffeine, which improves alertness and keeps you up.
Nevertheless, your genetic makeup determines how sensitive you are to caffeine. After drinking coffee, some people find it easy to fall asleep, while others find it difficult to sleep, even if they take their final cup of coffee hours before they go to bed.
Coffee consumption too close to bedtime may cause caffeine sensitivity, lengthening the time it takes to fall asleep and decreasing overall sleep duration. This sleep disturbance may cause the person to overindulge in caffeine the next day in an attempt to increase energy, which would interrupt their sleep cycle the following night. It’s called the “coffee cycle” because of this need for coffee to compensate for sleep disturbances.
A 2023 study found that in order to reduce caffeine’s detrimental effects on sleep, caffeinated coffee should be drunk at least 8.8 hours before bedtime. Burke LM, Weakley J, Gardiner C, et al. A meta-analysis and comprehensive review were conducted to determine how coffee affects sleep afterward.
When to have coffee to help lose weight
According to research, coffee consumption may protect against weight gain and aid in fat removal. In a three-year study involving 1,483 participants with metabolic syndrome, it was discovered that those who increased their coffee intake from no coffee or less than three cups per month to one to seven cups per week saw greater reductions in total body fat—including visceral fat, a dangerous form of deep belly fat—than those who didn’t increase their intake.
Coffee’s effect on hunger may contribute to some people’s ability to maintain a lower body weight and less body fat.
According to a 2017 analysis, caffeine use between 30 minutes and 4 hours before meals decreases calorie intake, which may help with weight loss and maintenance.
Studies reveal that caffeine-containing drinks, such as coffee, may enhance your resting metabolic rate—the amount of calories you burn while at rest—in addition to lowering the amount of energy you consume during meals. It has also been demonstrated that caffeine increases fat oxidation, or the body’s process of breaking down fat.
To improve performance, energy production, and fat burning during physical activity, coffee can be ingested about 60 minutes before exercise. This may lead to a larger calorie deficit which promotes weight loss.
However, don’t rely on coffee to help you meet your objectives for body composition. For weight loss and maintenance of a healthy weight, selecting the correct foods—such as those high in satiating nutrients like protein and fiber—and cutting back on your total calorie consumption is far more crucial.
What time of day is ideal for drinking coffee?
There is no clear “best time” according to science to drink coffee.
But since caffeine consumption too late in the day, between 6 and 8.8 hours before bed, can interfere with sleep, most people should try to limit their coffee consumption to the early to midafternoon hours of the day.
Delaying your morning coffee until after you’ve had a wholesome, high-protein meal may be beneficial for those with high blood sugar and those who are under stress. This can assist balance your levels of cortisol and blood sugar.
For optimal effects, those who wish to employ caffeine as a natural performance booster should try to drink coffee about 60 minutes before working out.
(Tashia Bernardus)