A group of American scientists concluded that the best time to take your daily dose of caffeine is the period between 09:30 and 11:30 am, and not necessarily at waking up, as many may think.
At stake is how the coffee interacts with our hormonal system, particularly cortisol, which manages the "biological clock" and promotes alertness.
Cortisol levels are naturally high upon waking and may remain high for up to an hour of stand up (the peak is between 08:00 and 09:00).
The neuroscientist Steven Miller, from the University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland (USA), explained that the ideal is to have breakfast when hormone levels are already down.
According to the investigators, when we ate breakfast while cortisol levels are high can lead to develop tolerance to caffeine, which means that we may need an extra dose of coffee to give the same effect.
"One of the principles of pharmacology is that the drugs should be used [only] when needed. Otherwise, we can develop tolerance to the medicine (...)," he said.
Note that the findings do not apply equally to all people, depending on a number of factors, including the time you usually wake up.
Source: RCM Pharma