Every coffee lover has a certain drinking ritual. But it may be worth reconsidering your habits: it is possible that coffee will give you more energy if you drink it at certain times of the day. When exactly should this be done?
Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, it gives us cheerfulness, improves concentration and reaction speed. Of course, it is not without side effects. Coffee abuse can cause emotional overexcitation, accelerated speech, nausea, anxiety, and insomnia.
The feeling of cheerfulness after a cup of coffee can last up to six hours. Therefore, the time at which we use a stimulating drink is of great importance. What do the experts recommend?
Age matters
A morning cup of coffee is good for boosting performance in young people. In 2016, a study was conducted in which students who regularly consumed coffee took part.
The subjects took tests that tested the work of memory at 6 o’clock in the morning and at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It turned out that a cup of coffee before the morning test improved the results, but for the test, which was carried out in the afternoon, coffee was useless.
At the same time, perhaps a daily cup of coffee will be more useful for those who are older. In adults, memory usually works worse during the day than in the morning. The results of a 2002 study showed that just one cup of coffee (drinking 30 minutes before a control test) prevented daytime memory loss in people over 65 years of age.
Pay attention to the individual characteristics of the body
Caffeine begins to act quickly enough, so coffee is best consumed exactly when you most need extra energy.
“If you have a normal sensitivity to caffeine, a cup of coffee (whether you drink it in the morning or in the afternoon) will give you energy and improve your concentration for a period of 1 to 6 hours. This gives you the freedom to choose when you need extra energy the most,” explains nutritionist Tamar Samuels.
“Scientists have found that every cell in our body has its own biological clock. Just because we “wake up” our brains with caffeine doesn’t mean the rest of our body gets the same boost.
Try drinking coffee at different times on different days and evaluate how this affects your performance.
Therefore, after a cup of coffee, we often no longer feel sleepy, but continue to feel lethargic. The reaction of the body to any substances, including caffeine, is individual. It can depend on age, genetic characteristics, and even the influence of culture, ”explains Zhaoping Li, a doctor and nutritionist, in turn.
How to determine the best time for you to drink coffee? “Try drinking coffee at different times on different days and evaluate how it affects your performance. If you do not feel any effect, it is possible that some medications that you take at the same time as coffee may be the cause.
If, on the other hand, caffeine is too strong for you and you feel increased heart rate, anxiety and restlessness, or cannot sleep, try not to drink coffee in the afternoon, unless, of course, you plan to work at night, ”recommends Lee.