It is a stimulant, pleasure drink at any time of the day and for everyone: Coffee. And yet, opinions differ as to whether it is really as healthy as people believe. After all, the caffeine contained in coffee has a partially strong effect on brain performance, they say. From this climbs the question of whether – and if so, when – is the best time for the brain to consume its daily dose?
The fact is: Whether there is a right time to make the most of the wake-up effect of caffeine is not so easy to answer. This is because it varies from person to person. But there are some neurobiological factors that can be used as a guide. For example, the stress hormone cortisol – and this is the core issue here – has a positive, activating effect. Like caffeine, it inhibits the adenosine receptors. Adenosine makes us feel tired. At the same time, it promotes the release of other activating messenger substances such as adrenaline, noradrenaline or dopamine.
The hypothalamus controls the release of cortisol. The cortisol level drops in the first half of the night so that we can recover. Then, starting around midnight, cortisol levels rise again with a peak around 30 minutes after waking up and getting out of bed. That’s usually between six and seven in the morning. That makes sense, because that’s when we want and should be active. After that, the level slowly drops again.
In a healthy body, all hormones are released in a certain rhythm, the circadian rhythm, throughout the day. Our organism synchronizes, so to speak, the physiological processes to a length of about 24 hours. Our brain actually wants regular processes: to wake up at the same time and to sleep at the same time. So if we want to get extra energy from a cup of coffee, it makes sense to do it when the cortisol level naturally drops again. This is usually the case three to four hours after getting up. Scientifically defined, the optimum time to drink coffee is between nine and ten o’clock in the morning.
However, this cannot be generalized. Of course, you can try it out and optimize it. Many people drink their first coffee or espresso out of habit directly at breakfast or directly after getting up. Our brain is then used to getting caffeine at the expected time. Cultural habits virtually override biological rhythms. If you want to optimize your caffeine intake and adapt it to your natural rhythm, you can even expect to have less energy at the beginning in the course of the changeover. The changeover would take a few days. And, of course, you would first have to find out what your own biological rhythm is.
And caffeine can also have an opposite or even counterproductive effect. This is because cortisol is additionally emitted as needed, especially during stress. In people with depression or burnout, this can lead to cortisol levels not dropping at all.