喝咖啡的最佳时间：上午10点半！

For many of us, it is the rocket fuel that gets us going first thing in the morning.
对我们许多人来说，早起第一件事就喝咖啡则如同火箭燃料一般，能让我们清醒起来动起来。

But one expert has argued that to get the maximum effect of caffeine, it's better to hold on a few hours - because coffee is most effective if consumed between 9.30am and 11.30am.
但是有专家认为，要想获得咖啡因的最佳效果还得再等上些许时间。因为在上午9：30-11：30这个时间段喝咖啡才是最有效的。

Steven Miller, a neuroscientist from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland, says it is best to drink coffee when the body’s levels of the hormone cortisol are low because caffeine interacts with the hormone.
马里兰州健康科学统一服务大学的神经学家史蒂芬·米勒认为，最好在身体中的荷尔蒙皮质醇水平偏低时喝咖啡，因为这时咖啡因和荷尔蒙相互作用。

He explained that people who drink coffee when their cortisol levels are high – namely, between 8am and 9am – develop a tolerance to caffeine, meaning it becomes less effective.
他解释道，当人们在上午8-9点中皮质醇水平较高时喝咖啡，身体对咖啡因有耐受性，并不是很有效。

Cortisol controls the body clock and causes people to feel wide awake, The Telegraph reports. The body’s levels of the hormone are usually high just after a person wakes up but start to fall about an hour afterwards.
据《每日电讯报》报道，皮质醇控制人体生物钟，让人们感觉很清醒。人体内的激素水平在刚刚睡醒后通常较高，但大约一小时后便开始下降。

Mr Miller argues that it is during this drop in cortisol levels that people get the most benefit from the caffeine in coffee – it gives them a boost as it encourages cortisol production when their cortisol levels start to drop and they do not become resistant to its benefits.
米勒先生认为，正是因为这种皮质醇水平下降，人们从咖啡中所含的咖啡因获得了最大益处——因可以振奋精神，在皮质醇激素下降时刺激皮质醇产生，而且人体对咖啡因的吸收不会受到皮质醇的抵制。

He explained that cortisol levels also peak at lunchtime and between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, meaning that these would also not be good times to drink coffee.
他解释道，皮质醇水平在中午以及下午5：30-6：30之间达到峰值，这也就意味着这两个时间段也不是喝咖啡的最佳时间。