If you’re someone who can drink coffee without becoming instantly anxious and jittery, you should still make sure you’re not drinking it too late in the day. It can cause sleep difficulties which then impact you the following day, and can therefore lead to a vicious cycle of more coffee drinking. “Caffeine has a half life of approximately five hours, which means it takes roughly five hours for the levels in your blood to reduce by half, and then another five hours to reduce by half again,” says Worthington.
“If you have a double espresso (around 400 mg of caffeine) at midday, you still have the equivalent of a single espresso in your blood at 5 p.m., and then the equivalent of half a shot at 10 p.m..” The moral of the tale? Mainlining coffee all day–and certainly after 3 p.m.–likely isn’t going to serve you in the long run.
The health benefits of matcha
You can barely move for influencers posting photos of their matcha on Instagram nowadays, but is the “healthy” trend rooted in real benefits?
Matcha also contains caffeine, but at a much lower dose of 70 mg per cup. “What this means is that you can consume more servings, or at later points during the day, before it has a detrimental effect on sleep,” says Worthington.
The souped-up older sister of green tea (both come from the same plant), matcha is grown in the shade, while green tea is cultivated in the sun. The entire leaf is used, which means it boasts a number of nutrients and contains more caffeine and antioxidants than green tea. “It is far denser (possible 100 times) in catechins, which is a natural antioxidant found in tea,” says Miller. “It can help with detoxification and may enhance brain function, plus it also contains a compound called L-theanine, which changes the effects of caffeine, so you are less likely to feel anxious or jittery.”
Matcha still helps with alertness, but doesn’t come with the energy crash that can follow caffeine, plus L-theanine–an amino acid–has other health benefits. “It has been shown to increase alpha brain wave activity which means mental focus is increased, as well as creative thought. It also boosts our happy hormones, serotonin and dopamine.”
Which is better: coffee or matcha?
We love to pit things against one another, don’t we? In this case, it doesn’t have to be an either/or. In fact, both can benefit your routine. If you’re someone with a nervous disposition, then you might find that matcha is a better option, while for performance benefits–at the gym, for example–coffee is your guy.