Coffee is among the most consumed beverages across the world, and those who drink it know what it does to them. Coffee drinkers love their cuppa for the range of effects it has – from giving energy to boosting metabolism and even improving performance throughout the day.
However, drinking your first cup shouldn’t be early morning when you wake up and open your eyes.
According to experts, the first consumption of coffee in the day should be around mid to late morning to help maximise the benefits and minimise the impact on your sleep. “The best time to drink coffee is typically mid-to-late morning, so around 9:30-11:30 AM,” said Dr Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a popular nutritionist and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed.
Why should you not drink coffee in the morning?
According to Ludlam-Raine, drinking coffee right after waking up reduces its effectiveness because it is when your levels of cortisol, the alertness hormone, start to dip. Cortisol levels are naturally very high in the early morning.
And so, later in the morning, coffee provides a boost. “Also, it’s best to avoid it too late in the day, especially if you are sensitive to caffeine,” she added. Caffeine, which stimulates your brain and nervous system, is found in abundance in many drinks such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Drinking coffee in the morning can make you jittery or anxious due to caffeine.
According to Ludlam-Raine, coffee stays in your body for at least six hours, and so, even when you have it late afternoon, it can still affect you in the late hours of the evening. Hence, you must not consume it after three pm each day to avoid any effects on your sleep cycle. However, it is mostly applicable for those drinking caffeinated coffee – but having decaf does not mean you can sip into the evening hours either. Nichola continued, “Decaf coffee contains very small amounts of caffeine (typically 2-5 mg per cup compared to 70-150 mg in a regular coffee). While it is unlikely to affect sleep for most people, those who are very caffeine-sensitive might still need to be cautious about drinking decaf close to bedtime,” she said.
Also, certain types of coffee come with different effects they have on your health. Studies say instant coffee can spike the risk of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD – an irreversible condition that gradually leads to blindness.
Health benefits of coffee
Apart from the energy boost, a few top ways coffee can positively impact your health include:
Wards of heart disease
Drinking one to two cups of coffee daily helps ward off heart issues, including a heart attack, when a weakened heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the body.
Boosts liver health
Both regular and decaf coffee have a protective effect on your liver. According to studies, coffee drinkers are more likely to have liver enzyme levels within a healthy range as compared to those who don’t drink it.
Strengthens your DNA
Roast coffee helps decrease breakage in DNA strands, which occur naturally but can cause cancer or tumours if not repaired by your cells.
Reduces risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Doctors say the caffeine in two cups of coffee a day can provide significant protection against developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. In fact, researchers found that women aged 65 years and older who drank two to three cups of coffee a day were less likely to develop dementia in general.