Espresso coffee drinking is all in the timing!

If like many of us you feel that your first espresso of the day is no longer giving you the energy boost you expect…… recent research may have discovered why!

You might have noticed in the media that every so often a new piece of research or a study comes out disproving the thinking behind a deeply embedded habit we have. The latest being that, drinking coffee in the morning may in fact actually be one of the worst times of the day to drink it according to the Science Channel ASAP Science.

Because we have high levels of the steroid hormone cortisol in our bodies in the morning, consuming too much caffeine can create two problems.

One is that caffeine interferes with the body’s production of cortisol, which is released in response to stress and low blood glucose, so that the body ends up producing less cortisol and relies more on a boost of caffeine to compensate. The second problem associated with drinking coffee in the morning – is well-known to habitual morning drinkers – it increases the person’s tolerance to caffeine because it replaces the natural cortisol-induced boost instead of adding it.

Cortisol levels have been found to be generally high at three times during the day, not just early morning, so the best times to drink coffee or caffeine are between 10.00am and Midday and between 2.00pm and 5.00pm.

Basically the study is saying that the best time to drink coffee is when our brains can use the caffeine most efficiently, and that’s not first thing in the morning if you need a caffeine boost. It may therefore be a good idea for early morning coffee drinkers to consider adjusting their schedules to better optimise their caffeine intake.

Of course we love making and enjoy drinking espressos at all times of the day and are not saying to stop that morning fix! It is just that over time you may find that you need more and more coffee for the same effect.