A new scientific study claims that the optimum time of day to drink that first cup of coffee is around 10:30am. When do you have your first hit of caffeine? Let’s talk breakfast routines.
Coffee vs. Cortisol
It’s all to do with the way caffeine reacts with ‘cortisol’, a hormone in the body which helps to regulate our internal clock and promote alertness. Cortisol levels are naturally higher after waking up and can remain so for up to an hour afterwards – the average peak is between 8am and 9am.
So it seems superfluous to ‘wake ourselves up’ with a cup of tea or coffee first thing in the morning, given that our bodies are already doing that for us. Instead, suggests neuroscientist Steven Miller from the University of Health Sciences in Maryland, try having your first hit of caffeine after the cortisol peak, between 9:30am and 11:30am.
Mr Miller warned that consuming caffeine while cortisol levels are high can encourage a tolerance to caffeine, meaning that you’d need more to keep awake. “If we are drinking caffeine at a time when your cortisol concentration in the blood is at its peak, you probably should not be drinking it,” he said on his blog. “It’s probably why I need a shot of espresso in [my coffee] now.”
Apparently there are also cortisol peaks in our bodies from midday to 1pm; and 5:30pm to 6:30pm. “In the morning then, your coffee will probably be most effective if you enjoy it between 9.30am and 11.30am, when your cortisol levels are dropping before the next spike,” said Mr Miller.
Andrew's morning
But of course, the exact point at which to drink that first cup of coffee depends on the person, and what time they wake up in the morning. Lovefood Editor Andrew swears by his morning ritual, even though he drinks his first cup of (Yorkshire) tea at 6:30am, half an hour after he wakes up. Then it’s a cup of proper coffee (or the Carte Noire instant stuff, if he’s in a hurry) at 7:30am, alongside a breakfast of marmalade toast, porridge or Weetabix, always eaten at the table with his wife and four-year-old. “If time allows,” adds Andrew, “our absolute favourite breakfast is sourdough toast with peanut butter, banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup – that will set you up!”
My morning
Personally, I’d rather have an extra hour in bed than wake up and prepare a proper sit-down breakfast. I arise at 8am, prepare nothing for breakfast, maybe drink some water, and then on the walk to the station I hurriedly eat the ‘toast sandwich’ which my boyfriend kindly makes me. It’s always made with homemade bread, and he varies the fillings between jam, marmalade and honey. There’s no way I have time for tea in the morning, so in reality I have my first cup at around 10am – much closer to Mr Miller’s ideal than Andrew gets. And generally speaking, I'm a fairly alert person.
What about you? When’s your first caffeine hit, or can you live without it? Do you breakfast on the run, or with the family at the table? Talk to us in the comments box below.
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