The Best Time to Drink Coffee for Optimal Energy Boost, According to Sleep Experts
Coffee in the morning is a ritual for many people — but is it ever too early in the a.m. to indulge? Brewing a cup or a pot of coffee as soon as you wake up might not give you the biggest energy boost throughout the day, according to sleep experts.
Dr. Deborah Lee, a U.K.-based doctor, said in a statement that drinking coffee first thing in the morning might not be the best bet. “When you wake up, your stress hormone cortisol level, which is a hormone that enhances alertness and focus, as well as regulates your metabolism and immune system response, is at its peak,” said Lee. “Elevated levels of cortisol may impact your immune system, and if they’re already at their peak when waking up, drinking coffee as soon as your eyes open may do more harm than good, and may even make you immune to caffeine over a long period of time.”
Cortisol follows a rhythm “specific to your own sleeping cycle,” the expert said, peaking within 30 to 45 minutes of waking up and slowly declining throughout the day. Taking this rhythm into consideration, Lee suggested that the best time to have caffeine would be at least 45 minutes after waking up when “your cortisol rhythm starts to dip.”
“The best time to drink coffee would typically be mid-to-late morning when your cortisol is a lot lower and you start to feel that energy slump,” she said. “But of course, not too late in the afternoon — as it could affect your sleep.”
Someone who wakes up at around 7 a.m., for example, might wait until around 10 a.m. or noon to have the first cup of coffee, “when your body and mind will appreciate it the most, and you’ll get the most benefits from the caffeine,” Lee said.
However, not all sleep experts agree with this perspective. Dr. Wendy Troxel, a Utah-based sleep expert and senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, had a different take on the matter. She stated that there is no scientific evidence that having caffeine first thing in the morning versus delaying it for a couple of hours after awakening has any differential effects on alertness.
Troxel suggested that coffee drinkers should experiment with what works best for them. “For some people, waking up and having a glass of water to rehydrate and then having coffee works well — but for others, the morning ritual of having a cup of coffee first thing upon awakening is just too good to give up,” she said. “So, I think it’s mostly a matter of personal preference.”
However, both experts agree that consuming coffee too late in the day can disrupt sleep. Caffeine works by blocking sleep-promoting receptors in the brain, and if consumed too late, it can lead to difficulty falling asleep at night. To reduce the likelihood of disrupted sleep, Lee recommended avoiding caffeine within eight hours of bedtime.
“That means if your bedtime is 10 p.m., you should consume caffeine no later than 2 p.m. — but if you’re someone who is strongly affected by caffeine, you want to back that time up even earlier,” she said.
In moderation, coffee can help with increased alertness, energy, better concentration, and reduced risk of certain chronic diseases. However, excessive amounts of coffee or consuming it later in the day can lead to negative side effects such as anxiety, jitters, rapid heart rate, and insomnia.
So, when it comes to the best time to drink coffee for an optimal energy boost, it’s important to consider your own cortisol rhythm and personal preferences. Waiting at least 45 minutes after waking up and avoiding coffee too late in the day can help maximize the benefits of caffeine while minimizing potential negative effects on sleep. Remember to listen to your body and adjust your coffee consumption accordingly.
