Science Says This May Be The Best Time To Drink Coffee

To many, coffee is the nectar of the gods, and we've been known to enjoy multiple varieties, from the best dark roast (based on reviews) to a refreshing iced coffee or cold brew — which, FYI, are not the same thing. Sometimes we're savoring a mug of steaming java at a café with a sweet treat in a moment of self-care; at other times, we're swilling an on-the-go thermos as we navigate rush hour traffic. Coffee can be a luxury or a necessity, a mere caffeine boost or an indulgence. Science has proven that there are health benefits to drinking daily coffee, but recent data suggests the time of day you sip your cuppa is also important.

A 2025 study published in the European Heart Journal assessed the coffee-drinking habits of over 40,000 American adults and found a not-insignificant reduction in overall mortality among those who enjoyed coffee in the morning, as opposed to throughout the day or not at all. Especially noteworthy was a 31% decrease in the number of cardiovascular deaths. When one of the study's authors, Dr. Lu Qi of Tulane University, commented about the implications of the findings in a press release, he theorized that morning coffee drinkers enjoyed the full benefits of coffee drinking without the disruptions to their sleep patterns (by way of circadian rhythm and melatonin production). In other words, jumbled sleep can cancel those caffeinated benefits out when you drink coffee later in the day. "Our findings indicate that it's not just whether you drink coffee or how much you drink, but the time of day when you drink coffee that's important," Dr. Qi concluded (via Prevention).

Will drinking morning coffee make you immortal? Certainly not, but, just as you should drink water in the morning for optimum functioning, you might consider adding at least one cup of coffee to your start-of-day ritual. Coffee's benefits have been acknowledged for a long time, including anti-inflammatory properties, improved digestive health, better glucose processing, and a lowered risk of harmful diseases like stroke, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's (via Johns Hopkins Medicine). However, too much caffeine (over 400 mg per day for a healthy adult) isn't great for you, and adding too much sweetener or cream may have detrimental impacts on your weight. But drinking a small to moderate amount of coffee in the morning allows you to really soak in those benefits and wards off one equally well-known downside of caffeine: its tendency to keep you up at night.

Losing sleep, unlike coffee, is decidedly bad for your overall wellness. Not only does insomnia affect your mood, brain processing power, and immune system, but, in the long term, sleeplessness actually raises your risk of many conditions that coffee helps fend off, like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, and heart disease. It's a weird and contradictory fact that coffee is great, but the resulting wakefulness from drinking it late in the day can be lousy for you. When you tie those facts together, it makes total sense that drinking coffee early on can unlock its benefits while eliminating potential downsides, possibly even promoting a longer lifespan.