We all know that health is a complicated system of checks and balances. Diet, exercise, habits, genes and medication all affect our health. The time you do things can also impact your well-being.
Drinking coffee in the morning may lower the risk of death from heart disease. A study showed that people who drank coffee in the morning were less likely to die from heart disease and had a lower mortality risk than all-day coffee drinkers.
Dr. Lu Qi, the study’s lead researcher at Tulane Univ., said their study doesn’t show why drinking coffee early lowers the risk. Dr. Qi said one explanation could be that drinking coffee all day or late in the day may disrupt a person’s internal body clock. Dr. Qi wants to run clinical trials to test how changing the time of day people drink coffee might change health outcomes.
“Many all-day [coffee] drinkers suffer from sleep disturbances,” said Prof. Thomas Luscher from Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, “in this context, it is of interest that coffee seems to suppress melatonin, an important sleep-inducing mediator in the brain.”
The team tracked 40,725 adults for about 10 years in the current study. After that time, 4,295 people died, and 1,268 were from heart disease-related problems. People who were morning coffee drinkers were 16 percent less likely to have died and 31 percent less likely to have died from a heart problem. People who didn’t drink coffee and people who drank coffee all day had the same health outcomes as each other.
“We don’t typically give advice about timing in our dietary guidance, but perhaps we should be thinking about this in the future,” said Dr. Qi.
However, it is essential to remember that correlation is not causation. There are many other behaviors and other factors that go into health. It could be that people’s coffee habits also coincide with other habits that may impact health.
“Drinking coffee later in the day can sometimes signal a reliance on stimulants to stay focused and keep working, often at the expense of addressing hunger,” said registered dietitian Michelle Routhenstein, who specializes in heart disease.
If you replace your meals with coffee, it’s possible that unhealthy habits could take a toll on your body.
Cardiologist Bradley Serwer pointed out why coffee can be beneficial in the morning. “Caffeine is a stimulant that can increase mental alertness and can improve cognitive focus. Caffeine helps improve physical stamina and can reduce the perceived effort during exercise.” However, he also pointed out the negative aspects of coffee. “Coffee does have negative side effects and should be avoided or limited in those with palpitations, abnormal heart rhythms and high blood pressure. Caffeine is a drug, and like all drugs there are benefits and risks associated with its consumption.”
More research is needed before concluding that afternoon coffee is unhealthy. However, you should cut back if you have problems sleeping because of your caffeine intake. A healthy sleep schedule is foundational to all aspects of good health, including heart health.
