Drinking coffee the minute you wake up is a big no-no

May 25, 2015 07:21 GMT  ·  By

If you're in the habit of pouring yourself a cup of coffee and drinking it whole the moment you wake up, we've got some news for you: that's not the right way to enjoy it and get its full effect. 

Scientists say that long before coffee was even a thing - yes, we've lived through such dark ages - the human body evolved to produce a very special hormone dubbed cortisol, a.k.a. (11β)-11,17,21-trihydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, if you want the official moniker.

This hormone is designed to make us more alert. The human body produces it in high levels during times of stress, when the fight-or-flight response kicks in, but also to help us make it through the day.

Studies have shown that new batches of cortisol are produced in the body between 8 and 9 a.m., 12 to 1 p.m., and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. To make the most of coffee, researchers recommend that people drink it outside peak cortisol levels.

Otherwise, having cortisol and coffee meet in the body diminishes the effect of the latter and makes people more likely to become addicted to caffeinated drinks and need more of them to stay awake.

Since some people don't wake up bright and early in the morning and instead sleep until about noon, scientists took the time to study when these folks should best drink their coffee to avoid upsetting the body's natural balance.

They found that, to get the full wake-up call from their daily cup of coffee, those who sleep in should wait about an hour after having woken up to drink it.