Delayed morning caffeine
A 90-120 minute gap between waking and the first coffee
Delay the day's first caffeine by an hour and a half or two, so adenosine clears on its own rather than being masked. The claimed payoff is no mid-morning crash and less caffeine overall. Skeptics call the evidence thin and mostly mechanistic. Andrew Huberman and Chris Williamson keep to it anyway.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Andrew HubermanDoes it
Neuroscientist · Huberman Lab
Holds his first caffeine until roughly ninety to a hundred and twenty minutes after waking, reasoning that it avoids the mid-morning crash.
Source: Huberman Lab: Using Caffeine to Optimize Mental & Physical Performance“The first tool I'd like to talk about is one that I've mentioned before on this podcast several times. … And that is to delay your caffeine intake to 90 to 120 minutes after waking up on most days.”
Huberman Lab: Using Caffeine to Optimize Mental & Physical Performance (opens in a new tab) · 5 Dec 2022 - Chris WilliamsonDoes it
Host · Modern Wisdom
No caffeine within ninety minutes of waking and none after 1pm is the rule, and he has gone long stretches with none at all.
Source: chriswillx.com: 3 Minute Monday, 2024 Candidates & Butterflies - Mel RobbinsDoes it
Author and podcaster · The Let Them Theory
Waits about 90 minutes to two hours after waking for her first coffee, having drunk a full cup of water first, and says she no longer wants a second cup. Six cups a day was her old baseline, by her own account.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: 1 Morning Trick to Boost Motivation Fast“I have gone from being a person who drinks coffee all day long to waking up and drinking a full cup of water. I'm not even craving the cup of coffee. I then enjoy a cup of coffee about 90 minutes to two hours later, and I don't ever need a second one.”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: 1 Morning Trick to Boost Motivation Fast (opens in a new tab)
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under energy or sleep.
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Consistent sleep and wake times
Same bedtime and wake time every day, weekends included
On record from 20 of 62 tracked people: 11 do it, 6 recommend it, 3 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Eight hours of sleep
Protecting a full night in bed as a training input, not a leftover
On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Morning sunlight exposure
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
On record from 10 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it, 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Front-loaded eating
Most of the day's food eaten earlier, with the smallest meal last
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Cutting out alcohol
Drinking nothing, or close to it: the most common upgrade in these stacks
On record from 13 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 2 recommend it, 6 have discussed it
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