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Science Says the Best Time to Drink Coffee Isn't the Morning

There are optimal times to drink coffee to maximize its caffeinating capabilities.

According to a news report on Washington-based science news blog NeuroscienceDC, the main piece of body chemistry that impacts coffee's effectiveness is the level of stress hormone cortisol in your body. The more cortisol you have at the moment, the more natural energy you have; so it makes the most sense to drink coffee when you are experiencing dips in the levels of cortisol in your bloodstream.

"Although your cortisol levels peak between 8 and 9 a.m., there are a few other times where-on average-blood levels peak again and are between noon to 1 p.m., and between 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.," writer Steven Miller says. "In the morning then, your coffee will probably be the most effective if you enjoy it between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., when your cortisol levels are dropping before the next spike."
Other data, however, suggests differently: according to the National Health Service in the U.K., the best time to drink coffee is at exactly 2:16 p.m. That figure is based not on scientific evidence but rather on a survey of when workers feel the most tired.
If you ask me (which you probably shouldn't, because we're not scientists) there's one optimal time to drink coffee: all day long, obviously.

How about you? What time do you love to drink coffee?

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Comment by Dahl Domingo on September 5, 2014 at 3:59am: reposted. September 5, 2014.

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Comment by Dahl Domingo on November 2, 2013 at 7:34pm: Thank you Noela. I am sure they will consider the advise of effect on prolonged coffee drinking.

Comment by Noela on November 2, 2013 at 1:06pm: Yes we all like our coffee fix and I guess it boils down to as to why we drink coffee in the first place.

1. For pleasure at our breakfast and work breaks.

2.Social drink to interact with friends at the "cappuccino strip" (coffee shop avenue)

3. As a pick me up when we feel that our system needs a boost.

4. Habit.

5. Wake up after a heavy night partying.

But...

There's bad news for many as we progress in years, which we all do eventually, and there's much evidence to support this concept.

Coffee causes both a diuretic effect and an independent irritative effect, resulting in rapid bladder filling and an urgent and involuntary desire to urinate- this can result in urinary incontinence in men and women.