Golden hours to know to drink coffee to maximize health benefits

Coffee and cortisol

Many people enjoy 1-3 cups of coffee when they wake up, or shortly after.

However, drinking coffee too soon after waking up will reduce its energizing effects, because this is when the body's stress hormone cortisol is at its highest.

Cortisol is a hormone that can increase alertness and focus. It also regulates your metabolism, immune system response, and blood pressure.

Caffeine from coffee can also increase cortisol levels.

Therefore, the best time to drink coffee is mid- to late-morning when your cortisol levels are lower. For most people who wake up around 6:30 a.m., the golden time to drink coffee is between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.

Drinking coffee when your body's cortisol levels are at their highest can increase this hormone even more. Long-term elevated cortisol levels can weaken our immune systems, leading to health problems.

However, there are no long-term studies on the health effects of increased cortisol from drinking coffee. That said, it's not harmful to drink coffee after waking up rather than a few hours later.

Coffee can boost exercise performance

The caffeine in coffee helps boost exercise performance.

Some studies have shown that caffeine can delay exercise fatigue and improve muscle strength and power.

To optimize the beneficial effects of coffee on exercise performance, it's best to drink coffee 30–60 minutes before exercising. This is the time when caffeine levels peak in our bodies. Therefore, exercising and doing sports during this time is best for our bodies.