New year’s resolutions surrounding coffee and caffeine consumption often have to do with the type of coffee — but what about the time you drink it? A recently published study in the European Heart Journal explores how the timing of coffee consumption can help drinkers maximize health benefits.
In the study, researchers found that the best time of the day to consume coffee is between 4 a.m. and noon. The observational study examined over 40,000 U.S. adults to determine which showed a correlation to coffee timing and individual risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease. The study’s findings suggest those who drink coffee before noon in the morning had a reduced risk of dying by all causes by 16% and a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 31% when compared to participants who did not drink coffee.
While correlation does not equal causation, this observational study sets the tone for further research about coffee timing. Overall, researchers note that drinking coffee in the morning could be more strongly associated with a lower risk of mortality than drinking coffee later in the day (though more research is needed to draw more conclusive claims).
Past research studies about coffee consumption and timing have found that the optimal window could be between 9:30 am and 11:00 am, giving the body some time to wake up and hydrate with water before rushing to consume coffee. Drinking coffee around 9:30 am allows the initial morning cortisol spike to dip before stressing the body’s adrenals by consuming coffee.
