The Early Brew Gets the Benefit: Morning Coffee Linked to Longer Life, Study Finds

Morning Coffee Linked to Lower Risk of Death, New Study Suggests

Image: (C) 2025 franz12|Adobe Stock

Somerset, Kentucky (SPA)---A new large-scale analysis of U.S. adults suggests that drinking coffee in the morning—rather than throughout the day—may be associated with a significantly lower risk of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease. The study, published using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2018, is among the first to examine how the timing of coffee consumption may influence long-term health outcomes.

Study Overview and Methods

Researchers analyzed health and dietary data from 40,725 adults who participated in NHANES over a nearly two-decade span. To validate findings, a secondary dataset of 1,463 participants from the Women’s and Men’s Lifestyle Validation Study—which included detailed 7-day dietary records—was also evaluated. Using clustering analysis, researchers identified two primary coffee consumption patterns based on timing:

• Morning-type drinkers (36% of participants)
• All-day-type drinkers (14% of participants)

These patterns were consistently observed across both datasets.

Key Findings of the data

Over a median follow-up period of 9.8 years, researchers documented:

• 4,295 deaths from all causes
• 1,268 deaths from cardiovascular disease
• 934 deaths from cancer

After adjusting for factors such as total caffeine intake, sleep duration, and other lifestyle and dietary variables, results revealed that the morning-only coffee drinkers had a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74–0.95) compared to non-coffee drinkers. The reduction in cardiovascular mortality was even more pronounced, with a 31% lower risk (HR 0.69; 95% CI: 0.55–0.87).

Importantly, the timing of coffee intake significantly influenced the benefits of coffee consumption. Higher total coffee consumption was associated with lower mortality only in those who drank coffee in the morning. For all-day coffee drinkers, no significant protective effect was observed, suggesting that chrononutrition—the timing of consumption—may play a critical role in coffee’s health impact.

Public Health Implications short and long term

These findings add a new dimension to the growing body of research linking moderate coffee consumption with health benefits. While coffee’s associations with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes have been previously documented, this study highlights that the timing of your coffee consumption may matter as much as how much you drink. The researchers caution that this is an observational study, and while strong associations were found, causality cannot be definitively established. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that early-day coffee consumption may better align with the body’s circadian rhythms and metabolic processes, potentially amplifying coffee’s health benefits.

Conclusion

Further studies, including randomized trials, are needed to explore the biological mechanisms underlying these timing effects. For now, the results may encourage coffee drinkers to consider switching to a morning-only habit to reap greater long-term health benefits potentially.