If you are someone who just cannot start your day without a kick of caffeine in the morning, here's something for you to ponder over. A dose of morning black coffee may not be as good as it seems! A new study by the University of Bath has found that drinking a strong, black coffee as your first meal of the day may impair metabolism and blood sugar levels, especially after a disrupted sleep at night. The study rather suggested consumption of morning coffee after breakfast for better metabolic control. The findings of the research were published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The researchers from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath (UK) conducted a study on the effect of broken sleep and morning coffee across a range of metabolic markers. The study also analysed the change in blood sugar level due to disrupted sleep and morning coffee. For the unversed, it is important to keep a check on our blood glucose (sugar) levels to prevent diabetes, heart-related disease and more.
The study was conducted on 29 healthy men and women, who were put on three different overnight experiments in random order. The researchers surveyed the blood samples of the participants. As per a report, published on the website of the University of Bath, the three experiments were:
- In the first condition, participants had a normal sleep at night and were asked to consume a sugary drink on waking in the morning.
- The second set of people experienced a disrupted sleep at night and then upon waking were given the same sugary drink. In this case, the researchers woke them up every hour for five minutes.
- For the third set, participants experienced the same sleep disruption as the second set, but were first given a strong black coffee 30 minutes before consuming the sugary drink.
It was found that one night of disrupted sleep had no such negative effect on participant's blood glucose responses at breakfast when compared to a normal night's sleep. However, the consumption of strong black coffee increased the blood glucose response by 50 percent.
"Put simply, our blood sugar control is impaired when the first thing our bodies come into contact with is coffee especially after a night of disrupted sleep. We might improve this by eating first and then drinking coffee later if we feel we still feel the need it. Knowing this can have important health benefits for us all," stated Professor James Betts, Co-Director of the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath who oversaw the work.
Lead researcher, Harry Smith from the Department for Health at Bath further stated, "Individuals should try to balance the potential stimulating benefits of caffeinated coffee in the morning with the potential for higher blood glucose levels and it may be better to consume coffee following breakfast rather than before."