According to experts, this is the best time of the day to drink coffee

Here’s a hint: you may want to give up your morning coffee habit.

If you roll into work everyday and immediately make a beeline to the pantry for a cup of coffee, you’re not alone. After all, getting yourself a morning cuppa seems to make complete sense – getting your caffeine boost first thing in the morning will power you through a long day ahead, right?

Wrong.

It turns out that consuming your coffee in the morning only numbs the energy-boosting effects of caffeine and increases your body’s tolerance to it. Seattle-based writer Ryoko Iwata behind shares this counterintuitive discovery in her blog “I Love Coffee” based on research by Steven Miller, a Ph.D. candidate at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda.

Why Mornings Are Not The Best Time for Coffee

According to Iwata, this has to do with our body’s cortisol levels throughout the day. Cortisol is a hormone responsible for making us feel alert and awake. Our body produces the highest level of cortisol between 8 to 9AM in the morning. Which means that at the time you’re typically on your first cup of coffee, your body is at its peak energy levels – or “naturally caffeinated”, if you will.

Drinking caffeine during your peak cortisol levels actually diminishes its energy-boosting effects, which means you’re not getting that productivity-inducing caffeine boost you wanted. Worse still, consuming caffeine when your body doesn’t need it builds a faster tolerance to it. An increased tolerance for caffeine in turn will heightens your cortisol levels, and may disrupt your body’s natural circadian rhythms.

So, When Is the Best Time for a Coffee?

Iwata suggests the best times for a cuppa are as follows: between 9.30 to 11.30AM and 1.30 to 5PM. These are the optimal time periods as they take advantage of the dips in your cortisol levels which are between 8-9AM, 12-1PM and 5.30PM, for most folks. So if you’re looking to sustain your energy and productivity levels throughout your work day, schedule your ‘coffee breaks’ during these timing windows!

Sarah Khan

Photo: Getty Images

Read More:

Caffeine Fix: 10 Best places to grab a quick coffee in the Singapore CBD

Killer Question: Can drinking coffee make you live longer?

Perk Me Up: 8 Healthy alternatives to coffee for an energy boost


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Marie France Asia, women's magazine