If you sip on coffee all day long, it may be time to reconsider the timing of your coffee consumption. In a new study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers found that drinking coffee only in the morning contributed to a lower mortality risk compared to drinking coffee later in the day. While several studies have suggested the health benefits of coffee, few studies have specifically looked at the timing of coffee.
This new study was based on a previous study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which followed the habits of coffee drinkers from 1999 to 2018. Researchers broke down data into three subgroups: those who consume coffee in the early morning, afternoon, or evening hours. Compared with people who weren’t coffee drinkers, having coffee only in the morning was associated with a 16% lower risk of premature death from any cause and a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Those who tended to drink coffee all day had no risk reduction. Researchers also considered other factors, such as sleep hours, age, sex, physical activity levels, etc. In a recent news release, study leader, Dr. Lu Qi, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and Professor at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, noted, “This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes. Our findings indicate that it’s not just whether you drink coffee or how much you drink but the time of day when you drink important coffee. We don’t typically advise about timing in our dietary guidance, but perhaps we should consider this in the future.”
