Why Research Says You Might Want To Skip That Coffee Before Your Breakfast

For this study, researchers wanted to look at how poor sleep and morning coffee affected various metabolic markers. To do this, they gathered a small group of 29 men and women for three trials.

On one night of the study, the subjects slept normally and drank a sugary drink first thing in the morning. On another night, their sleep was disrupted by researchers every hour for five minutes, and they, again, drank a sugary drink upon waking.

And for the final test, participants had another disrupted night's sleep, but this time, they drank a strong black coffee half an hour before the sugary drink.

The research suggests drinking coffee first thing may negatively affect blood sugar control. Thankfully, the same can't be said for one poor night of sleep, which is...better news?

In the first test, one bad night of sleep wasn't enough to worsen their blood glucose response upon drinking the sugary drink, but it was when coffee was consumed beforehand.

We drink a lot of coffee, and with the growing need to manage widespread chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease through stable blood sugar, these findings are significant.

"We know that nearly half of us will wake in the morning and, before doing anything else, drink coffee," notes professor James Betts in a news release. "Intuitively the more tired we feel, the stronger the coffee." But this research, he notes, shines a light on how coffee affects our metabolism and blood sugar control.

That's not to say we have to give up on our morning cuppa—you just may want to hold off for a bit longer in the morning. "We might improve this by eating first and then drinking coffee later if we still feel the need," Betts adds.