People have been warned that leaving it too late could cause issues
There are many advantages to drinking coffee. In some cases, it can help you live longer, ward off diseases, support gut health, and boost your metabolism.
But did you know there is a key time to consume coffee for maximum benefit? According to a study published in the European Heart Journal, Oxford Academic, there is “an estimated 1 billion consumers worldwide.”
And it turns out that moderate coffee drinking – about three to five cups a day – has been linked to reduced risks for dying early. And you may find that morning is the ideal time to drink your cup. So make sure to drink your coffee around 8am to 11am, and definitely before 12pm.
Drink coffee in the morning
The Journal said: “We must accept the now substantial evidence that coffee drinking, particularly in the morning hours, is likely to be healthy. Thus, drink your coffee, but do so in the morning!”
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Backing up why this is, the European Heart Journal explained: “Wang et al. analysed the time of the day when coffee is consumed in 40,725 adults from the NHANES and of 1,463 adults from the Women’s and Men’s Lifestyle Validation Study.”
“They noticed two distinct patterns of coffee drinking”, meaning around 33% of people are “morning drinkers,” while 14% drink coffee throughout the entire day.
Morning drinkers had a 16% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 31% lower risk of dying from heart disease compared to non-coffee drinkers. These benefits were specifically linked to morning consumption; the “all-day” pattern did not show the same significant protection.
It adds that coffee in the morning aligns with your body’s natural energy surge, so drinking coffee later in the day may keep your nervous system switched ‘on’ when it should be winding down. This disruption messes with your internal clock (circadian rhythm), which is why many all-day drinkers have trouble sleeping.
Coffee benefits
Confirming that “caffeine, a main ingredient of coffee besides hundreds of others, has many rapid and positive actions on the brain, i.e. it enhances alertness, fosters concentration, and improves mood and well-being”, the experts say it also “reduces the risk of depression, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.”
It adds that “caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumed at a dose of four cups a day was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes as compared with those drinking fewer than one cup a day.
“More importantly, in a large study, funded by the National Institute of Health, consumption of 4-5 cups of coffee per day was inversely associated with mortality, heart and respiratory diseases, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, but not cancer.”
The verdict
Drink your coffee, but do it in the morning. The evidence suggests that morning consumption aligns best with our natural sympathetic activity and protects our sleep cycles, the study concludes.
