Coffee can boost your effectiveness and mood or overload your stress hormones and disrupt your sleep pattern depending on when you have your cup
Coffee enthusiasts will be well aware of the effects their daily brew, from disrupting sleep patterns and hormone levels to enhancing metabolism and physical performance. But one expert suggests timing your first cup for mid to late morning could maximise benefits whilst minimising sleep disruption.
Nichola Ludlam-Raine, author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed, explained: “The best time to drink coffee is typically mid-to-late morning, so around 9:30-11:30 AM.
“This is when cortisol levels start to dip. Drinking coffee immediately upon waking may reduce its effectiveness, as cortisol (the alertness hormone) is naturally high in the early morning.
“In the afternoon, coffee can still provide a boost, but it’s best to avoid it too late in the day, especially if you’re sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine can have a different impact on different people, so if it makes you jittery or anxious, it’s best to avoid.”
Working with Coffee Friend, the nutritionist revealed that caffeine typically remains active in your body for approximately five to six hours. This means even an afternoon brew could still be influencing you well into the evening hours.
She advised cutting off coffee consumption by roughly three pm daily to prevent interference with your sleep patterns. Whilst this guidance primarily applies to caffeinated varieties, opting for decaf doesn’t give you carte blanche to keep sipping throughout the evening either.
Nichola said: “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.”
Beyond giving you an energy kick and raising cortisol levels, coffee can also deliver some health perks. The nutritionist explained: “Coffee is one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the diet, helping to combat oxidative stress and inflammation.”
“Caffeine may help improve focus, memory, and reaction time. Regular coffee consumption has also been linked to a reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Caffeine can slightly increase metabolic rate and fat-burning, making it a potential aid for weight management when paired with a balanced diet and exercise.”
“Regular coffee drinkers appear to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, potentially due to its effect on insulin sensitivity. Coffee can boost dopamine production, which may help improve mood and reduce the risk of depression.”
Different varieties of coffee have also been associated with varying health impacts, with new research on instant coffee revealing it could be raising the chances of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This condition cannot be reversed and slowly destroys central vision.
Published in the Food Science & Nutrition journal, the study read: “Previous cohort studies suggested that coffee was beneficial for AMD. In contrast, our study provided a more detailed stratification of coffee types and yielded different results. We found that instant coffee significantly increases the risk of AMD.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for coffee lovers, as ground coffee and decaffeinated coffee didn’t pose the same significant risk as instant coffee, which was linked to a staggering 6.92-fold increased risk of AMD.