Coffee is addicting. To many people, it’s more than just a daily beverage, but a part of their lifestyle. Personally, coffee makes me feel attentive and more aware of my surroundings. After a vanilla latte, I feel awake and ready to take on my day’s tasks, and the caffeine motivates me to use my energy to be productive.
My positive experiences with coffee took a turn for the worst last quarter when I began overusing the drink. I thought it would solve any negative feeling I had or instantly wake me up from even the slightest feelings of tiredness.
I’d yawn and instantly reach for a cup, even though I probably didn’t need the caffeine. I remember a day last quarter where I had a double espresso at 4 in the afternoon and then another large cup of coffee at 7:30 PM. I had a late work shift that night, so I felt like I wouldn’t get through the night without the caffeine boost.
That night, however, I couldn’t fall asleep until 2 AM. After a long day of work and class, there wasn’t anything I wanted more than to crash in my bed as soon as I got home. But thanks to the unnecessary caffeine I was systematically injecting into my body, I faced a week or two of miserable sleeplessness.
I woke up to the realization that caffeine is a powerful stimulant. As the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug, many coffee drinkers abuse the drink in an unhealthy way.
There’s a way to drink coffee and embed the drink into your daily routine in a healthy way. Researchers say that having a cup of coffee immediately after waking up is actually not the best way to start your mornings.
When you first wake up, your cortisol levels are already pretty high. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is released in response to stress and low blood-glucose concentration. It activates anti-stress pathways and gives your body positive energy.
Instead of rushing straight to the coffee maker, start your morning routine slowly and step by step. Go to the bathroom, wash your face, get dressed and then wait an hour before drinking your coffee.
Researchers say that your cortisol levels will usually peak between 12-1 PM and 5:30-6:30 PM, so avoid drinking coffee at these times. Take advantage of your natural waves of cortisol and drink coffee when you feel the energy fading.
The best time to indulge your coffee addiction is mid-morning, when your cortisol production is low. Researchers advocate that the best times to drink coffee or have caffeine is between 10 AM to noon and between 2 PM and 5 PM. Coffee 3-4 hours before bed is never a good idea, unless you’re trying to deal with insomnia that night.
But everyone is different and every body needs different levels of nutrition and caffeine to sustain a healthy level of energy through the day, so listening to your body is important.
After trying to regulate my coffee addiction, I found that I had more energy overall through out the day. Some of that was due to the better sleep I was getting, the cortisol that was pumping in my body, and of course, the caffeine boost.