The Surprising ROI of Your Morning Coffee

Your morning coffee is more than just a wake-up habit.

Here are 7 surprising “dividends” you receive from starting the day with a cup of coffee.

1) Enhances morning focus

Caffeine is a well-studied stimulant that improves memory, alertness, and focus.

A cup of coffee in the morning helps you productively kick off the responsibilities of the day with your full attention.

The return? Higher productivity and focus when it matters most.

2) Ticks with your body’s clock

Your circadian rhythm wakes your body up in the morning and puts it to rest in the evening.

Drinking caffeine from coffee in the AM flows with this natural bio-clock.

3) Reduces morning inflammation

Your body’s immune system wakes up in the morning too.

The immune system is on highest alert in the early morning hours (i.e. highest joint pain, morning stiffness, etc…).

Coffee has anti-inflammatory properties, which can help calm your immune system during its morning spike.

4) Aligns with your cortisol curve

Coffee boosts your cortisol levels.

Cortisol is a hormone involved in alertness, stress, metabolism, and managing blood sugar levels.

Your cortisol naturally spikes in the morning and crashes in the afternoon.

Drinking it in the morning works with your body’s natural cortisol rhythm.

5) Kickstarts calorie burning

Coffee increases calories burned by 3-11%.

It does this by increasing the amount of calories your body burns at rest (“resting metabolic rate”).

This is a modest, but real, metabolic boost.

6) Boosts morning workout performance

Caffeine boosts both endurance and strength performance.

Try it 30-60 minutes before exercise.

Coffee is cheaper than pre-workout mixes for a workout performance boost.

7) Coffee smell is calming

A study was done on patients undergoing a stressful dental procedure (yikes).

Some patients smelled the aroma of coffee during the procedure. Others didn’t.

The patients who smelled the coffee had lower pulses, blood pressure, and cortisol levels.

Whether or not the patients were coffee drinkers didn’t matter.

So in short… enjoy the morning cup.

Coffee is a small investment into your energy, focus, performance, and well-being.

Cheers for coffee!

If you liked this, check out the Layman’s Fitness Newsletter, where I release similar content like this every week.

The information provided in this article is for informational and educational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.