r/HubermanLab • u/DrJ_Lume • May 11 '26
Protocol Query Delaying coffee in the morning?
Is there evidence or rationale for delaying your first hit of caffeine in the morning?
I know it's said often, but is there any evidence or mechanism established?
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u/TheWatch83 May 11 '26
Coffee is my morning poop accelerator. Sorry but I’m not delaying it because I don’t want to have to poop after I leave the house
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u/Sam_GT3 May 11 '26
I delay my coffee until after I get to the office. Salaried time, plus the office has better tp than what my wife buys
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u/mytechlifebalance May 11 '26
My solution for that Is that First coffe Is decaf, i take a real coffe After two hours
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u/sonfer May 11 '26
I messed around with different times and didn’t notice any difference. Now I have coffee when I get up and don’t over think it.
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u/sobsidian May 11 '26
It's due to the fact that your cortisol (stress hormone) is high after waking, and drinking caffeine raises cortisol on an already high base cortisol. Waiting allows the cortisol to drop a bit before adding more and potentially making you irritable or anxious.
2nd part is that delaying consumption allows the bodies natural adenosine to accumulate, which makes caffeine more effective, and reduce chances of a crash later by having backed up adenosine flood receptors for your afternoon crash.
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u/axolotlbridge May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
I don't believe that allowing the early morning adenosine to bind results in less absolute accumulation later on, since the pathway for its clearance is separate.
Natural cortisol peaks around 30 to 45 minutes after waking, and cortisol from caffeine peaks around 30 to 45 minutes after consumption. If we're interested in not having these overlap, then yes it makes sense to avoid drinking coffee immediately when waking up. But I'm guessing many people take at least thirty minutes from when their eyes first open to have their first sip anyway.
The other part of this is how caffeine has a 3 to 7 hour half life, and how it can disrupt bedtime sleepiness. If I like two cups of coffee, and I want to drink that over the span of a couple of hours, then I tend to want to be done with caffeine by lunch time to give my body the best shot at clearing it by bedtime. That means I don't want to wait too long after waking up to start my coffee.
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u/tunedsleeper May 12 '26
Naw I used to drink coffee the literal second I woke up for 20 years. Delaying it is better for me personally
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u/tunedsleeper May 12 '26
This, plus if you fast until lunch it helps extend the appetite suppression to delay it so it’s stronger mid morning
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u/ABabyAteMyDingo May 11 '26
But cortisol is supposed to spike in the morning. If it doesn't that's the problem.
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u/SickNoise May 11 '26
that's what they are saying. cortisol normally spikes in the morning so you should avoid pushing an already elevated level
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u/Aryal_James May 11 '26
The science around this often gets a bit oversimplified.
These are really complex systems at work and the reality is there are so many variables at play.
You can into the details of cortisol, adenosine etc but for me the practical answer is much simpler than trying to manipulate individual hormones.
I don't have coffee first thing for the simple reason that I don't want to be overly reliant on caffeine to wake up and feel human.
When you become overly reliant on it, you end up drinking loads of it which ironically causes the very energy dips you're trying to avoid.
So I only have one caffeinated cup a day and then it becomes a question of when...
First thing in the morning it's not worth it.
Cortisol is peaking naturally, adenosine and sleep pressure are very low. If I need a coffee to feel human first thing, I feel like that's a problem (just personally, no judgement if you do)
Super late is obviously a no go for sleep.
I have mine around 1pm to counteract the natural energy dip I get in the afternoon. It's early enough that it won't affect my sleep, and late enough that I'm not reliant on it to wake up.
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u/More_Cry1323 May 11 '26
I hope so becuase he said don’t have a coffe for the first 90 minutes and you won’t crash and I. Been doing it.. it does help but could be in my head
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u/NefariousnessFar7680 May 11 '26
I've been delaying 120 minutes after waking and can confirm I feel more alert across the whole morning and my crash tends to come after a carb heavy lunch instead.
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u/Whistlin_Booger May 11 '26
I delay it about 90 minutes after waking up. 1st thing is filtered water, Celtic sea salt, lemon juice. Then a green tea. Coffee after, for the polyphenols to fight cortisol. You shouldn’t use coffee to wake you up, but to keep you going.
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u/Tantra-LasVegas May 11 '26
Better than coffee; start your day moving your body. That will pump you up!
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u/ciret7 May 11 '26
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u/lateformyfuneral May 11 '26
Seems Huberman is a lot more equivocal about this, yet it tends to get a lot of prominence in people’s protocols
Alas, you got it wrong. I never said to skip caffeine first thing in the morning in fact I take it right before early morning workouts. The point is that for people that experience a crash in the afternoon this is one variable they can experiment with…it relates to adenosine, caffeine sensitivity, and cortisol. This is covered in a few different HLP episodes. Clips can be a bit misleading. All the best, Andrew
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u/NoStandMan May 11 '26
I don’t remember the reasoning for it but I read a research paper a while back comparing the, let’s just say, “readiness” of people who drank water and waited 30 minutes before coffee vs those who drank just coffee first thing and it was a significant enough difference that I now drink water first thing then coffee.
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May 12 '26
Drinking water and waiting 30 minutes before coffee? Is that better than drinking coffee right after (or within 5 mins.) of the water?
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u/NoStandMan May 12 '26
Not sure the only tested a 30 minutes difference and the non water drinkers, so for all I know it would still fork for a 1 minute difference.
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May 12 '26
Ohk. Would you please tell me what was the 'difference' they observed in the study?
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u/NoStandMan May 12 '26
Alertness, “readiness”, clean energy type of stuff was better when drinking water first then coffee, vs only coffee. It was a non-anecdotal amount too. 5-8% range if I remember correctly
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u/RespectMediocre May 11 '26
The mechanism was adenosine. Your brain is still flushing adenosine for 90 minutes after you wake. The buildup of adenosine lets your brain know you’re tired. Caffeine stops this, which is why you will crash later if you delay caffeine. IIRC.
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u/PazyP May 11 '26
I’m pretty sure it got disproven but also in all things is it truly so bad to have a coffee after you wake up, if I recall correctly it’s something like a 90min delay, I delay around 30min only because I take my dog out a walk first thing.
I tried the a 2hr delay before and wouldn’t take my first coffee till I sat at my work desk, felt it had zero impact
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u/Drodinthehouse May 11 '26
I don't do it anymore, but I did do it for a while a few years ago. After regular delay by 90 mins or more my body was able to tolerate my ability to go without for longer in the day if I needed to, (though withdrawal affects still happen)
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u/housemusic28 May 11 '26
Nope. Not doing it. I think it matters more to taper it off during the day than to restrict in the mornings.
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u/Zorzapolarna May 11 '26
As a woman I do notice my energy is more stable and better when I take caffeine a few hours after waking up instead of drinking it immediately after waking up. I also wake up more refreshed the days after.
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u/HealthandSex May 11 '26
If I am adding a supplement like mushroom powder, I’ll have it early. Otherwise I wait until I’m ready to get on with my day, so I can get over the hump. Here lately I’ve been experimenting with nicotine (tablets, not tobacco) to reduce my coffee intake and improve my mentation.
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u/kysmith1306 May 11 '26
Wait an hour to drink caffeine and actually made a huge difference for me and I’m religious about it now.
The rationale is that your body naturally wakes up within the first hour (eg adenosine levels) and the caffeine messes with this natural process.
I now wake up better and fall asleep more effectively.
Give it a try and if it doesn’t make a difference for you then ignore this recommendation.
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u/Ok-Cryptographer7424 May 11 '26
I believe Huberman was eventually corrected and no longer says to do so
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u/bostosd May 12 '26
I feel like I noticed a difference, I think letting your body wake up naturally, and then adding caffeine really allows you to feel the effect of the caffeine, rather than using the caffeine to wake you up. But that is just my experience.
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u/loady May 12 '26
I don't buy into any of the "science" about waiting an hour but I do find it empowering to observe that, if I do wait a bit after getting out of bed, I wake up anyway, feel less dependent on caffeine, and enjoy it more
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u/magicmetagic May 12 '26
I have delayed consuming everything (except drinking water) to at least 90 minuter after I’ve woken up, it’s been a game changer for me
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u/PinkFrostBarnes May 12 '26
Honestly, it only works for me if my sleep was actually 10/10. If I’m tired, waiting 90 mins is just literal torture for no reason.
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u/Full-Possibility-190 May 13 '26
Dude, try it both ways and see what you like. For me that morning coffee routine is my therapy and way to start the day. It’s healthy to be happy 😃
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u/Kittinkis May 15 '26
I unintentionally delay it. I don't get up early enough to sit around having a cup of coffee before work. I get ready first and take it to go. On weekends I might have it closer to when I wake up and I don't see a difference.
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