Morning Coffee: Are You Drinking it too Soon after Waking?

Morning Coffee: Are You Drinking it too Soon after Waking? - Thomas DeLauer

Humans are guided by the 24-hour hormonal cycle referred to as the circadian clock, which is preprogrammed into us genetically and although we can mess with our cycles through lifestyle habits, the major factor in its regulation is sunlight

One of the things that this clock controls in humans is the release of cortisol which makes us feel alert and awake

The peak production of cortisol occurs between 8–9 am (under normal circumstances) - this means that at the time that many people are having their first cup of coffee, their bodies are actually "naturally caffeinating" the most effectively

The times of peak cortisol levels in most people are between 8-9 am, 12-1 pm and 5:30-6:30 pm

Therefore, timing your coffee breaks between 9:30-11:30 and 1:30 and 5:00 takes advantage of the dips in your cortisol levels when you need a boost the most

Chronopharmacology can be defined as the study of the interaction of biological rhythms and drug action

One of the most important biological rhythms is, as mentioned, your circadian clock - this endogenous 24 hour clock alters your physiology and behavior in variety of ways but it can also alter many properties of drugs including drug safety (pharmacovigilance), pharmacokinetics, drug efficacy, and possibly drug tolerance

Fun fact: In studies, by creating an "island" in the brain by methodically cutting the hypothalamus away from any surrounding tissue, the circadian clock was completely lost

So drinking your morning coffee at 8am isn’t really the best time due to the circadian rhythm of cortisol production at that time

Drug tolerance is an important subject, especially in the case of caffeine since most of us overuse this drug

Therefore, 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

In the morning then, your coffee will probably be the most effective if you enjoy it between 9:30 and 11:30am, when your cortisol levels are dropping before the next spike

Published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, researchers analyzed how caffeine disrupts sleep when consumed at different points in time during the day

The volunteers included 12 healthy men and women who were normal sleepers and regularly consumed moderate amounts of caffeine

During the study, they maintained their normal sleep routines with bedtimes from 9 pm to 1 am, and wake times of 6 am to 9 am - they slept somewhere between 6.5 to 9 hours each night without napping during the daytime

Participants were given a fixed dose of caffeine, along with placebos, at 0, 3, and 6 hours before bedtime - 400 mg of caffeine was administered, which is equivalent to around four cups of coffee

Researchers monitored signs of sleep disturbance using a sleeping monitor and found:

At 0, 3, and 6 hours before bedtime, caffeine had a significant effect on sleep disturbance - even caffeine consumed 6 hours before bed affected sleep amounts by over an hour

Sleep quality was diminished when caffeine was consumed at all three points during the day. Compared to the placebo, there was a significant amount of time spent awake during the night, including when caffeine was consumed 6 hours before.

However, the perception of caffeine’s effect on the body was not a direct measure of how it affected sleep

When caffeine was consumed 6 hours before bed, they did not report any effect to their sleep quality - the sleep monitor showed a different story, though

Concluded that we shouldn’t fully rely on our own perceptions to judge how caffeine is really affecting us, especially when it comes to sleep

[fiets]

For people in a hurry, a quick sum up:

- Drink caffeine 1 hour after waking up.
- Drink caffeine 1 hour after lunch (but at least 6 hours before bedtime for better sleep).
- After that, less caffeinated drinks for better sleep.

[NelsonBlakeII]

Water, meditation, walking and sunlight are ideal immediately after waking. Bonus points if you can incorporate a stretch and if you're creative, write three pages of anything. This is a real game changer for your physical and mental health.

[GuiTechPMW]

most important things i've learned on this channel so far:
1 - Don't overthink
2 - Respect your goals
3 - Be consistent
4 - Keep it sustainable
5 - Get things done
6 - There's no such thing as "too much avocado"

[Devonellah]

Absolutely agree Thomas! I usually wait until 11:00 am and it works great for me. I don't "Need" it to wake up - I hydrate and take a shower in the morning and then wait 2 hours to get my coffee and it feels great... Awesome video :)

[th_hero]

Man Thomas, you're looking wayyyy better than in the last few years. AMAZING transformation. You've been able to help me with explaining fasting to others with HARD SCIENCE. Including my own physique. I'm a hard gainer, very active metabolism, too much cardio. So ya now I'm making gains. 1.5lbs - 3lbs of muscle gained per month. 3 months in already went from 142-152. First 2 months were mostly eating and little training. Last 4 weeks, lots of training.

[williamrodriguez]

Thanks for supporting O.U.R

God bless!

[joeryan]

Thomas! I’m telling you you’re right on point with Dr Amen Ra! Coffee & Green Tea/Matcha are staples in his diet. His protocol calls for drinking coffee each morning after a 30-90 min cardio session, just like how you’re saying to wait an hour before drinking the coffee! His book also goes into the details of the importance of the circadian rhythm and benefits of timing the ingesting of his nutraceuticals. You can donate to his website to get a pdf of his work!

[jerevickers]

In the beginning of learning IF and KETO, I felt overwhelmed and rushed to learn everything fast, so I would look at the comments for the timestamps to skip forward. But now that I'm over 2months into KETO and feeling the amazing benefits of it, I'm taking more time to learn the reasons of why we do what we do. You're so informative and a great teacher and overall making my life better, so thank you for that Thomas.

[tonyarose]

I like how you broke this down in simple terms. It was short and to the point. I now understand, when to take my caffeine thanks to this video. ❤

[imenebouchakour]

I agree with the studies. It explains why coffee does not wake me up like before! And if I have coffee late in the afternoon, it will affect my sleep quality. Thanks for this informative video

[DirtyDemon]

Does this negatively affect muscle building and testosterone with cortisol levels being spiked in between the body's natural releasing times?

[peterkuskis]

My first drink for the last year or two has been lemon water—often with electrolytes. 2nd comes coffee—now black with pink salt and raw cacao. Delish...and a pre-workout primer! I have a couple more drinks I may or may not add after that, too:)

[marcmurphy]

Perfect timing, that it decided for me. Im going to go back to training on an empty stomach in the morning, then have a pea protein shake then mid morning i'll have my keto coffee. Thanks :-)

[languageblock]

@Thomas DeLauer

is it bad to drink coffee on an empty stomach? Cannot seem to find an answer. I break my fast late in the morning, 1100 - 1200. I drink coffee once a day, usually after about an hour from waking up. First thing I drink when i wake is a pint of water.

[mlucchine]

I already do this and so happy it’s the right way !!!! I wake up at 6 am, coffee is at 8 am and my 2nd cup is 9 am . I don’t eat breakfast since my HWC is my fat and I’m good till lunch at 1230 !

[niyigenr]

I have black coffee first thing in the morning before I workout and do not have time to wait an hour since I have to be at work early. What do you suggest to be a good decaffeinated preworkout for energy?
Thanks for these tips.

[LawDragOn]

What if you workout upon waking and you want to take the energy from the fasting workout drink (which includes coffee as the base) that mentioned in a different video? Thank you, Thomas.

[carinekeza]

I blend ginger and keep everything in a big jar in fridge.
My first morning is
1cup of ginger +cinnamon +turmeric + honey. Amazing tea😊

[JDWALLACE]

so relateable and cant wait to try this, im so used to having coffee as soon as im up and wondering why ive built up a tolerance, everything makes sense, and if this works, thankyou so much

[_koschwarz]

I drink coffee because of the taste. I have never felt it would wake me up or boost me in any way. I just love the taste of a good italian kind of espresso.