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Drinking coffee first thing in the morning may do more harm than good, says expert
For many people, gulping down a cup of coffee first thing in the morning has become somewhat of a ritual. The belief is that caffeine gives you that boost you need to get things going. And while coffee can indeed put an extra kick in your step, Dr Deborah Lee, sleep expert at Get Laid Beds, says drinking a cup of joe as soon as you wake up may not be the best idea.
Why does coffee not work when you drink it as soon as you wake? "When you wake up, your stress hormone cortisol level is at its peak, which is a hormone that enhances alertness and focus, as well as regulating your metabolism and immune system response," Dr Lee explained in a press statement.
"Elevated levels of cortisol may impact your immune system, and if they're already at its peak when waking up, drinking coffee as soon as your eyes open may do more harm than good and may even make you immune to caffeine over a long period of time."
So does that mean no more coffee in the morning? Of course not. You just need to practice a little bit of patience and get to know how your body works.
"The cortisol hormone follows a rhythm specific to your own sleeping cycle. They peak within half an hour to forty-five minutes of waking up and then slowly will decline throughout the day, explaining why you may peak in the morning and get more tired at night. Taking into account your own rhythm, the best time to have your caffeine fix would be, at the earliest, 45 minutes after waking up, when your cortisol rhythm starts to dip."
According to Dr Lee, the best time to have your coffee would be "mid-to-late morning when your cortisol is a lot lower, and you can start to feel that energy slump."
Drinking coffee first thing in the morning may do more harm than good, says expert | Life
Wait at least 45 minutes after waking to gulp down your first cup of coffee for the day.www.news24.com
This is true. I used to feel good at first after my morning cup of fresh brewed. But over time that feeling disappeared, so I started having my cup after breakfast now.
