January 15, 2025
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People who drink coffee only in the morning, as opposed to throughout the day, have more than a 30% reduced risk of heart disease, according to a recent study.
Much has been studied and written about the health benefits of a few cups of Joe a day, including a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. But new research suggests that the timing of coffee consumption matters, too.
People who only drink coffee in the morning, instead of throughout the day, have a lower risk of heart disease and premature death, a study published in European Heart Journal suggests.
"This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes," the study's lead author, Dr. Lu Qi, of Tulane University, said in statement.
The researchers took data from a previous study that found 36% of adults drank coffee before noon, 16% throughout the day and 48% not at all. The researchers then linked this data with records on the number of deaths — and their causes — from the same time period, 1999 to 2018.
The researchers found that people who drank coffee in the morning were 16% less likely to die from any cause and 31% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. People who drank two or more cups of coffee in the morning had the most benefit, and those who drank one cup of coffee in the morning had some, but less, benefit. People who drank coffee all day did not seem to get any benefit.
The study had several limitations. The researchers only could draw associations between the timing of coffee drinking and health benefits. Genetic information that could help the researchers understand people's individual coffee metabolism rates was not available. Only adults in the United States were surveyed.
Also, the researchers could not exclude the "possibility that the morning-type coffee drinking pattern is a marker for an overall healthy lifestyle." For example, people who only drink coffee in the morning may be more willing to exercise and avoid ultra-processed foods, the researchers wrote.
Drinking coffee later in the day, rather than just in the morning, may disrupt circadian rhythms, affecting people's sleep patterns and leading to inflammation associated with heart disease, the researchers wrote. More research is needed to better understand why drinking coffee only in the morning may offer protection against cardiovascular disease and early death from any cause, Qi said.
