Delayed Caffeine Intake
Let’s talk about delaying caffeine intake in the morning. The whole concept is to wait to drink caffeine for 1-2 hours after you wake up rather than consuming it first thing in the morning. You’re probably wondering…why in the world would anyone consciously choose to do this? Well, unfortunately and fortunately there are some amazing benefits if you can get yourself on board with this.
When you first wake up in the morning, your body naturally produces cortisol (aka the “stress hormone”) to help you feel more awake and alert. Your cortisol levels typically peak within the first hour or so of waking up. By delaying caffeine intake for the first 1-2 hours of your morning, you allow your body to benefit from your natural cortisol amounts first. If you consume caffeine during this peak cortisol period, it may not have the same stimulating effect because your body is already naturally alert. Timing your caffeine intake to be after your peak natural cortisol levels can optimize the effectiveness and help you to maintain more consistent energy levels throughout the day rather than feel a mid-morning or afternoon energy crash that a lot of us can experience. Over time, delaying caffeine intake can also allow you to better regulate your caffeine consumption and reduce tolerance buildup over time. In my experience, I have consumed less coffee using this technique however I should note that I was guilty of drinking double or even triple what others deem as an appropriate amount before using this technique, so I’m still drinking more than I should LOL! This has also been a game changer to help me drink more water in the morning to hydrate before guzzling the dehydrating cup of coffee (your body will thank you for this, I promise! girlies--think less ★headaches★).
I know this can be such a hard habit to implement because for most of us coffee can be a morning ritual that makes us excited to take on the day, or at least just survive the day and become less zombie-like. I think the best way to implement this is to create a new morning ritual that you can get excited about every morning. I don’t suggest trying to replace your coffee with another “coffee equivalent” sort of drink because in your mind you will probably always compare it to the real thing, it won’t feel the same + then it will be hard to continue the habit. This can be a good time to start working on building a completely new morning routine (hint: go check out my morning routine pt. 1 blog post from a few weeks ago). I also suggest monitoring how you feel throughout the morning. When you feel your energy levels starting to dip, this can be the time to drink your caffeine of choice. Don’t get too caught up in a specific time right away. Adjust the timing for yourself as needed. Everyone’s body responds differently and the goal is to find what timing works best for you in order to keep energy levels consistent throughout the day.
Keep in mind that it could be easy to continue to drink caffeine later into the day because of your delayed start which can have a negative effect on your sleep quality. I usually try to stop drinking caffeine by 12 pm but sometimes your girl doesn’t follow this, so if you see me sipping on coffee past 12 pm, mind ya business. In all seriousness, don’t forget that you don’t have to be completely on point every single day. Don’t get down on yourself + just try again the next day! ❤︎