I would just like to pat myself on the back once again, for being intuitively ahead of the game…
The Best Time for Your Coffee. an article from NeuroscienceDC blog.
My Findings
Over a year ago, I switched from drinking coffee as soon as I got up, (or better yet, getting up to someone handing me coffee in bed) to having a coffee break at 10 a.m..
It has made some surprising differences: I drink less (coffee), am more awake earlier, have a profoundly natural sleep schedule. All things I greatly lacked until a year ago.
I have no idea how much to attribute to my new coffee time, or if eating clean, real food also contributes to the changes.
Since I’ve committed to eating nearly 80%, or better, seasonally and locally, avoiding nearly all commercially processed foods, including ingredients for homemade foods, eating naturally home fermented foods like pickles, sauerkraut, relishes, going to bed at nine p.m. (or earlier), eating regularly scheduled meals, and having my daily coffee at 10 a.m.. I feel way better, my skin is clearer, less aches and pains, less gut aches and bloating, and the big two changes – no more asthma attacks and no migraines.
Let me clarify on the two big changes. I have had headaches and in the whole year, I think I have had two migraines, but back in the good ol’ days I would have one or two migraines a week, if I was real careful I could get down to maybe only three a month.
I did have a slight asthma attack just recently, I walked into a small building that had just been drywalled. Considering that this summer I was chuckin’ bales of hay over my head and only became slightly out of breath and wheezy, when before I always had to have my inhaler with me, in case I ran into some bothersome particulate like dust, mold or smoke, or worked to fast, I say that was a remarkable change.
And again, I can’t contribute all the changes to having a scheduled coffee break at 10, I have made lots of changes. But I do love that science backs me up on one of the changes that I just intuitively knew would be beneficial.
Some Other Related Differences Noted
I also recently read on a coffee-haters blog that deferring your first cup of coffee to later in the morning assisted in actually eating breakfast. A nasty habit I certainly had, I have always been a breakfast lover (I love all food at all times) and a breakfast skipper. My old self would skip breakfast and lunch, as long as I had a cup of coffee somewhere handy to sip, hot or cold or typically luke warm.
I knew it was a horrid habit. And often I would go on diet regimes that forced me to eat at least three scheduled meals. And those diets were good, I always lost weight. And felt better. But in all the years of changing my diet and changing my schedule none of it caused my asthma and migraines to go away.
Another interesting finding: on the weekend when Dirt causes me to sleep in and lounge around, I like having my coffee early, in my morning groggy state, in bed, while I go over seed catalogs, or listen to NPR Puzzleman. Dirt doesn’t drink coffee by the way, but loves to indulge my habit and happily makes my coffee and brings it back to bed while we continue to lounge and listen. Along with the whole backflipped schedule and drinking coffee in bed, when we do get up, Dirt makes breakfast. We’ve done this weekend thing for nearly ever, and in spite of the awesome weekday schedule, continue to do this.
I used to think I couldn’t eat certain things in the morning – his weekend breakfasts always wiped me out and made me perfectly non-functional for hours. But I am beginning to think it is the coffee too early in my system. Bet, is the usual breakfast maker and coffee-break meal fixer, and she can make the same stuff for early weekday breakfast as I thought I couldn’t deal with. And no repercussions. Especially if we also do not have a black tea with early breakfast but instead have an herbal tea or just hot water.
So, I’ll give Lil’Miss Coffee-Hater that one for sure, coffee apparently is not good in my gut and system first thing in the morning, and now with this NeuroscienceDC article scientifically backing up the better time for coffee as far as brain function, I’m thrilled I have already made the change and maybe I need to ask Dirt to bring me a lovely light tea for weekend mornings in bed, then I can dive face first into his hashbrowns, eggs and pancakes. And come up working!
