A new study published in the European Heart Journal found that people who drink coffee mostly in the morning have a lower risk of death, particularly from cardiovascular disease, compared to those who drink coffee throughout the day or do not drink coffee at all. The finding suggests that not only the amount of coffee consumed, but also the timing of consumption may affect long-term health outcomes. IZ writes this with reference to Psypost.
Content
- The impact of coffee consumption timing on health
- How the research was conducted
- Confirmation of results
- Mortality risk and association with timing of coffee consumption
- The amount of coffee and its effects
- Study limitations
- Prospects for future research
The impact of coffee consumption timing on health
Previous studies have shown that moderate coffee consumption is generally associated with health benefits, including reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, the results have been mixed, especially among those who drink large amounts of coffee. The researchers suggested that different consumption habits, including the timing of coffee consumption, may explain these discrepancies in previous studies.
” Coffee consumption may affect circadian rhythms related to sleep and hormones such as melatonin and cortisol, which are important for health. Therefore, the timing of coffee consumption may affect overall health ,” said Lu Qi, acting chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Tulane University.
How the research was conducted
To investigate this hypothesis, the researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a large, ongoing study of health and diet in the United States. They looked at data from more than 40,000 adults collected between 1999 and 2018. Participants were asked to recall everything they ate and drank over a 24-hour period, including when they consumed coffee. Using a statistical method called cluster analysis, the researchers identified two main groups: those who drank coffee in the morning (between 4 a.m. and noon) and those who consumed coffee throughout the day. The third group included people who did not drink coffee at all.
Confirmation of results
To confirm these patterns, the team also analyzed data from two additional studies that tracked the eating habits of more than 1,400 professionals using more detailed food records collected over seven days. These external studies showed similar trends in the timing of coffee consumption, strengthening the reliability of the results.
Mortality risk and association with timing of coffee consumption
After sorting participants by their coffee consumption patterns, the researchers tracked health outcomes for nearly a decade. During that time, more than 4,200 participants died. Of those deaths, about 1,270 were from cardiovascular disease and about 930 were from cancer. The researchers examined whether different coffee consumption habits were associated with different mortality risks, taking into account factors such as age, race, smoking, diet quality, physical activity, sleep habits, and overall coffee consumption.
They found that people who drank coffee primarily in the morning had a significantly lower risk of death from all causes compared to those who did not drink coffee. Specifically, people who drank coffee in the morning had a 16% lower risk of death during the study. The risk reduction was even greater for deaths from cardiovascular disease: they had a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular causes than those who did not drink coffee. At the same time, people who drank coffee throughout the day did not have a statistically significant reduction in risk compared to those who did not drink coffee.
Amount of coffee and its effects
Importantly, the study also found that the benefits of drinking more coffee were limited to those who drank coffee in the morning. Among those who drank coffee primarily in the morning, higher coffee intake was associated with a gradual reduction in the risk of death. But for those who consumed coffee throughout the day, the amount of coffee had no clear relationship with risk. This suggests that more coffee is not necessarily beneficial if it is consumed outside the morning.
Study limitations
These patterns remained consistent even after the researchers took into account other possible factors, such as insufficient sleep, sleep problems, or tea and coffee consumption. The consistency of the results across different levels of coffee consumption and different groups of people further reinforces the link between the timing of coffee consumption and health.
These results suggest that ” coffee consumption in the morning may be more beneficial to health than in the afternoon or evening/night ,” Lu Qi said in an interview with PsyPost.
Prospects for future research
Despite these limitations, the study opens up a new line of inquiry into how the timing of food and beverage consumption may affect long-term health. Future studies could examine how the timing of coffee consumption interacts with work shifts, genetic differences in caffeine metabolism, or other lifestyle factors. For now, the findings suggest that enjoying coffee in the morning is not just about the amount you drink, but also an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
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