Drink Coffee Right When You Wake Up (why experts have been wrong)

Summary

This video debunks the popular trend of waiting 30-120 minutes before consuming caffeine in the morning, arguing that recent evidence shows it's unnecessary. The speaker explains that caffeine's effect on cortisol spikes and adenosine levels doesn't vary based on when it's consumed. Rather than negatively impacting your body in the morning, caffeine can be enjoyed right after waking up. The video also discusses the optimal timing for caffeine intake to enhance workout performance and fat loss, and suggests periodic breaks from caffeine for better long-term benefits.

Takeaways

• 😀 Waiting 30-60 minutes after waking up to have caffeine has become a popular trend, but recent evidence suggests it may not be necessary.
• 📈 Cortisol levels naturally spike in the morning, and caffeine increases cortisol regardless of when it's consumed, so waiting to drink coffee doesn’t significantly change the cortisol response.
• ☕ Habitual coffee drinkers can enjoy their morning ritual without worrying about negative effects on cortisol or energy levels.
• 🧪 A study from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition debunked the belief that delaying caffeine intake reduces the cortisol spike.
• 🔄 Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, preventing feelings of tiredness, but adenosine levels are low in the morning, so caffeine’s impact might be less needed at that time.
• 💡 Having caffeine later in the morning, when you’re genuinely more tired, might offer greater performance and wakefulness benefits.
• 🏋️ For those who work out, consuming caffeine closer to the workout time may enhance performance and fat loss more effectively than having it immediately after waking up.
• 🛑 Cortisol spikes from caffeine decrease with habitual use, so the concern over caffeine and cortisol in the morning is largely irrelevant for regular coffee drinkers.
• 📅 Taking occasional breaks from caffeine (around 5 days) can restore the cortisol spike and enhance fat loss benefits when resuming caffeine intake.
• 🥛 Enjoying decaf coffee some days can still provide the ritual without overloading the body with caffeine, allowing for better overall management of caffeine's effects.

Q & A

What is the trendy advice regarding caffeine intake in the morning?

It has become fashionable to wait 30, 60, or even 120 minutes before having caffeine in the morning, as suggested by reputable sources.

What does the International Society of Sports Nutrition study suggest about caffeine intake?

The study published in the International Society of Sports Nutrition journal debunks the idea that caffeine should be delayed in the morning, suggesting it's fine to consume caffeine immediately upon waking.

What is the role of cortisol in the body and how does caffeine affect it?

Cortisol is a hormone that naturally spikes in the morning to help us wake up and get going. Caffeine is believed to increase cortisol levels, but the study mentioned suggests that the spike is similar regardless of when caffeine is consumed in relation to waking up.

What is adenosine and how does it relate to caffeine intake?

Adenosine is a molecule that builds up and makes you feel tired. Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors, thus preventing the sensation of tiredness. However, the belief that waiting to consume caffeine allows for a more effective blockage of adenosine is scientifically incorrect.

Why might someone choose to delay their caffeine intake despite the evidence?

Some people might choose to delay caffeine intake to maximize its effects when they actually feel tired later in the day, potentially enhancing performance and wakefulness during activities like workouts.

What is the significance of the 25% off discount link for seed symbiotic mentioned in the script?

The 25% off discount link for seed symbiotic is a promotional offer for a product that combines prebiotics and probiotics, which can support gut health and potentially aid in fat loss and overall metabolism.

How does the body's response to caffeine change over time with habitual use?

With habitual caffeine use, the body may become less responsive to the cortisol-spiking effects of caffeine. However, taking a break from caffeine for about 5 days can reset this response, potentially leading to increased fat loss benefits when caffeine is reintroduced.

What is the significance of the timing of caffeine intake in relation to workouts?

The timing of caffeine intake in relation to workouts can be strategic. Consuming caffeine right before a workout might provide a greater performance boost and fat loss effect compared to having it hours earlier in the morning.

What does the script suggest about the effectiveness of caffeine on adenosine levels in the morning?

The script suggests that adenosine levels are not significantly high in the morning upon waking, so caffeine intake immediately after waking is not as detrimental as previously thought. Adenosine builds up more as the day progresses, making caffeine potentially more effective later in the day.

What is the final recommendation regarding morning caffeine intake based on the script?

The final recommendation is that there is no need to worry about delaying caffeine intake in the morning. It is perfectly fine to consume caffeine as soon as you wake up, and the decision to delay should be based on personal preference and the desired effect of caffeine at different times of the day.

Outlines

00:00

🕒 Debunking the Caffeine Wait Time Myth

The paragraph discusses the trend of delaying caffeine intake in the morning, which is based on the belief that waiting can have health benefits. However, recent studies, including one published in the International Society of Sports Nutrition journal, suggest that there is no scientific basis for this practice. The paragraph explains that the body's cortisol levels are naturally high in the morning, which is essential for starting the day, and that caffeine does not exacerbate this. It also touches on the role of adenosine, a molecule associated with tiredness, and how caffeine's effect on it is not as detrimental as previously thought. The speaker advocates for the personal choice of caffeine intake time based on individual preferences and habits, rather than following unproven advice.

05:02

☕ The Effectiveness of Morning Caffeine

This paragraph further explores the idea that caffeine intake in the morning is not harmful and may actually be beneficial. It challenges the notion that adenosine buildup is the cause of morning grogginess, suggesting that other factors like brain wave patterns are more likely culprits. The speaker points out that adenosine levels decrease upon waking, making caffeine's impact on these levels negligible. The paragraph also discusses the effectiveness of caffeine later in the day, suggesting that it might be more beneficial to consume it when feeling tired, rather than first thing in the morning. It mentions the concept of 'habituation' to caffeine, where the body no longer experiences a cortisol spike with regular consumption, and the potential benefits of occasional caffeine abstinence to reset the body's response. The speaker concludes by encouraging individuals to be mindful of their caffeine intake and to consider the timing for optimal effects.

Keywords

💡Caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant commonly found in coffee, tea, and other beverages. It works by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain, which typically promote feelings of sleepiness. In the video, the speaker discusses the misconception that one should wait before consuming caffeine in the morning, suggesting that it's actually safe to consume immediately upon waking up. The video also touches on the idea that caffeine's effects on cortisol levels are not as detrimental as previously thought, and that its consumption can be beneficial for fat loss and alertness.

💡Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that plays a key role in the body's response to stress. It is naturally higher in the morning to help wakefulness and is essential for stimulating metabolism and fat loss. The video script challenges the idea that caffeine consumption in the morning exacerbates cortisol levels, citing a study that shows cortisol spikes are similar regardless of when caffeine is consumed throughout the day. The speaker also suggests that occasional breaks from caffeine might enhance its fat loss benefits.

💡Adenosine

Adenosine is a neuromodulator that builds up in the brain and is associated with feelings of tiredness. It is a byproduct of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) metabolism. The video explains that adenosine levels decrease rapidly upon waking, contrary to the belief that they remain high and should be allowed to stabilize before consuming caffeine. The speaker argues that caffeine's effectiveness is not diminished by immediate consumption in the morning due to the rapid change in adenosine levels.

💡Circadian Rhythm

Circadian rhythm refers to the body's internal clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and other physiological processes. The video script mentions circadian biology in the context of adenosine levels, explaining that they change rapidly upon waking and are not significantly impacted by immediate caffeine consumption. The speaker uses this concept to counter the argument that caffeine disrupts circadian cues.

💡Fat Loss

Fat loss is the process of reducing body fat through a combination of diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes. The video script discusses how cortisol, which is often associated with stress, can actually play a positive role in fat loss when not chronically elevated. The speaker suggests that caffeine, which can stimulate cortisol, might contribute to fat loss when consumed at the right times, such as before a workout.

💡Hormone Sensitive Lipase

Hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) is an enzyme that breaks down stored fat into fatty acids and glycerol, which can then be used for energy. The video mentions that cortisol stimulates HSL, which is part of the body's mechanism for mobilizing fat for energy, thus supporting the idea that cortisol is not inherently bad and can be beneficial for fat loss.

💡Prebiotic and Probiotic

Prebiotics are non-digestible food components that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, while probiotics are live bacteria that provide health benefits. The video script mentions a product called 'Seed Symbiotic' that combines prebiotics and probiotics, suggesting that improving gut health can have a significant impact on overall health, including fat loss and metabolism.

💡Caffeine Tolerance

Caffeine tolerance refers to the body's adaptation to regular caffeine consumption, which can reduce the effects of caffeine over time. The video script discusses how regular caffeine use can lead to a diminished cortisol response, suggesting that taking breaks from caffeine might help maintain its effectiveness for alertness and fat loss.

💡Adenosine Receptors

Adenosine receptors are protein structures in the brain that adenosine binds to, influencing sleepiness and wakefulness. Caffeine works by blocking these receptors, thus preventing adenosine from promoting sleepiness. The video script explains that the belief that caffeine should be delayed to avoid combating existing adenosine is incorrect because adenosine levels drop rapidly upon waking.

💡Caffeine Withdrawal

Caffeine withdrawal occurs when someone who regularly consumes caffeine stops or reduces their intake, leading to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and irritability. The video script briefly mentions that taking a break from caffeine for about five days can reset the body's response to caffeine, potentially enhancing its effects when resumed.

Highlights

Waiting 30-120 minutes before consuming caffeine in the morning is a trendy advice, but it may not be necessary.

The advice to wait before consuming caffeine is based on a solid argument, but recent evidence suggests it might not be required.

A study published in the International Society of Sports Nutrition journal debunks the need to wait before caffeine consumption.

Habitual coffee drinkers can enjoy their caffeine ritual immediately upon waking without negative effects.

Seed Symbiotic offers a 25% discount on their prebiotic and probiotic product, which can improve gut health and metabolism.

Seed's transparency in publishing their clinical trials, even if results are not favorable, demonstrates integrity.

Cortisol levels are naturally high in the morning and are essential for starting the day; additional caffeine does not exacerbate this.

The belief that caffeine increases cortisol levels more in the morning is debunked; the increase is similar regardless of the time of day.

Adenosine, which contributes to feelings of tiredness, is not significantly present in the morning, contrary to popular belief.

Caffeine's effectiveness may be greater later in the day when adenosine levels naturally increase, rather than first thing in the morning.

Having caffeine immediately upon waking is not harmful, and there is substantial literature to support this.

The timing of caffeine consumption should be based on personal needs and desired effects, rather than fear of negative impacts.

Caffeine's effect on cortisol levels diminishes over time with regular consumption, making the spike less significant.

Taking breaks from caffeine can potentially reset the body's response, leading to increased fat loss benefits upon reintroduction.

The advice to wait before consuming caffeine in the morning is not supported by current scientific understanding.

Transcripts

it's become almost trendy to wait 30 60

120 minutes before having caffeine in

the morning because very reputable

people tell us that we should do that

and actually the basis of it makes so

much sense that it creates a solid

argument but I don't think that people

out there saying this just to be

malicious or grossly negligent and

incorrect I think it's been hard to sift

through the data and understand sort of

the biochemistry to really know whether

or not this is the case but most of the

evidence is now suggesting that that

isn't the case you could potentially

roll right out of bed and have caffeine

which is great for habitual coffee

drinkers because it's a ritual we like

it so there's a study that was published

in the journal International Society of

Sports Nutrition that had debunked a lot

of different things but they were

looking at this one specifically so

let's break it down after today's video

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of one one capsule so that link down

below Top Line of the description

underneath this video so the big thing

that people talk about the most is this

cortisol thing we get up in the morning

and cortisol is already high in the

morning it's supposed to be high that's

what gets us going it's like roll out of

bed and you're ready to go if cortisol

doesn't Elevate in the morning that's

problematic if it starts to like Spike

later on right we want that Spike now

this is all kind of coming from the

world of cortisol being bad remember

cortisol in a normally functioning

person is good like it is something

that's also going to stimulate fat loss

it encourages hormone sensitive lipase

it's all these things that we want to

get up and going we just don't want it

chronically elevated so the basis is

don't add caffeine because it's going to

increase cortisol on top of an already

high cortisol Spike wait for that

cortisol to come down so you're not

having a deleterious effect great basis

couple serious flaws though there was an

interesting study that looked

specifically at caffeine and cortisol

and they found that caffeine did

increase cortisol significantly 30%

spike in cortisol big stress response

big cortisol Spike but they were testing

them at 90 120 plus minutes after waking

so it was having a cortisol Spike

regardless of whether it was in the

morning morning or not and a lot of

people on the internet and even

reputable scientists will say that

caffeine is going to have an exacerbated

cortisol impact first thing in the

morning it's going to increase it

exponentially than it would if you had

it later however the increase in

cortisol seems to be about the same

regardless so that part's somewhat of a

moot point it doesn't matter the

cortisol spike is going to happen either

way now there is a reason why you may

want to have caffeine a little bit later

but it's not what people are talking

about we're going to kind of

end the video with that because there is

legitimate context and I think there's a

Playbook that you can follow to just get

the most out of your caffeine and get

more fat loss and just effect out of it

right but the other piece is this whole

adenosine thing so remember

adenosine is what builds up and makes

you essentially feel tired okay and it

comes as it's the backbone of ATP

adenosine triphosphate three phosphate

molecules bound to an adenosine molecule

okay this goes through a cycle obviously

where one phosphate molecule is cleaved

off eventually you're left with an

adenosine molecule these adenosine

molecules build up in the brain and

eventually create pressure to make you

tired when you have caffeine you're

blocking those receptors so that the

tired molecules can't hit you eventually

caffeine wears off and you get a big

rush of adenosine okay so a lot of

people suggest that if you wait for 30

60 Minutes in the morning maybe even

longer adenosine levels stabilize so

your caffeine is not just going going to

be combating existing adenosine but it's

going to actually have a better effect

and not have negative effects point is

is that the basis of that is

scientifically Incorrect and

mechanistically incorrect because when

you get up in the morning if you know

anything about circadian biology there's

rapid changes in our levels of adenosine

adenosine remains somewhat built up

during the sleeping hours in the morning

but the moment that we transition to

being awake those adenosine levels are

like gone it changes fast so the

caffeine is not going to impact any

existing adenosine because there's

barely any existing adenosine anyway the

adenosine builds up as the day goes on

which here's where we get to an

interesting thing though it's kind of

funny that we have caffeine in the

morning when the morning time right when

we wake up is actually the least time

that we would need caffeine the reason

we're probably groggy is not as a result

of a Denine Field built up the reason

we're probably groggy is because our

brain waves haven't shifted over yet

maybe we have a Al issues maybe whatever

but it's probably not from adenosine as

a matter of fact adenosine is going to

build up as the day goes on which

implies that caffeine is going to be

more effective later in the day so

having caffeine first thing in the

morning is definitely not deleterious

and we have a strong literature to

suggest that it's perfectly fine you

could roll out of bed you could have a

pick line ready to go of coffee the

moment your eyelids open you could have

it triggered you could rig it with like

a string and a paperclick and you could

like rig it around your nightstand and

you could make it so that you have so

the second you eyes anyway point is you

could do that okay it's not going to be

negative but you have to ask yourself

the question just rolling out of bed in

the morning and having a cup of joe do

as much for you as if you were to

preserve that caffeine and maybe say you

know what I'm just going to have it midm

morning when I'm actually a little bit

tired you're going to get more effect

more performance effect so here's a

context let's say you work out at 10:00

a.m. in the morning but you get up and

you have a cup of coffee at 6:00 a.m.

okay that's fine do you actually need

that though or could you delay it until

right before your workout because maybe

you'll get even more of an effect more

fat loss more wakefulness during your

workout if you had it later so it has

nothing to do with hey this is bad it's

messing up your circadian cues and has

more to do with how much do you want to

get out of it another thing to note is

that that cortisol Spike with caffeine

it doesn't even matter because after a

few days of taking caffeine in

religiously or just

habitually you don't get the cortisol

spiking anymore so it's a moot point

anyway so the whole cortisol thing that

just is off the table so when you do

take some time off of caffeine however

literature suggest it only takes 5 days

before the cortisol Spike would come

back with caffeine and I don't look at

cortisol as bad I look at cortisol as a

sort of a barometer for hey how much fat

loss am I potentially getting out of

this so it's almost like hey every once

in a while just take 5 days off and then

restart and maybe you'll get even more

fat loss benefit because there was

another arm of this entire like review

that looked at like habitual coffee

utilization or caffeine basically it

found that like you don't really lose

performance effect of caffeine but it

does kind of happen gradually so as long

as you maybe occasionally take some time

off and then come back with caffeine it

could work really well so just be like

selective like do I need caffeine today

or could I actually just have decaf and

enjoy the ritual and give my body a

little bit of a break so that I

potentially get more Effectiveness but

at the end of the day the whole waiting

in the morning thing don't worry about

it I'll see you tomorrow