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Do you simply not function in the morning without coffee? Or do you turn to a cup of joe to perk up your afternoon? Well, thanks to science we now know the best time of the day to drink coffee.
To maximize the effects of coffee in your body you should think of coffee as a drug and consume it based on your natural rhythms to make it more effective, according to Steven Miller, from the blog NeuroscienceDC.
Miller, a PhD candidate at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland, based his theory on chronopharmacology, the study of the interaction of biological rhythms and drug action.
When it comes to coffee consumption, the most important biological rhythm to keep in mind is the body's natural release of cortisol, aka the stress hormone. Cortisol naturally increases our state of alertness so consuming coffee when cortisol levels are at their peak won't get you the caffeine 'high' you are looking for, according to Miller.
''If you are drinking your morning coffee at 8 AM is that really the best time? The circadian rhythm of cortisol production would suggest not,'' Miller writes, explaining that ''this is because cortisol production is strongly related to your level of alertness and it just so happens that cortisol peaks for your 24 hour rhythm between 8 and 9 AM on average.'' Cortisol also peaks between noon and 1 p.m. and between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.
So what's the best time of the day to enjoy your morning coffee? Miller suggests reach for a cup between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to really get an energy boost.
Via Fast Company
