A genuinely interesting research profile, complicated by sleep timing and what's added to the cup.
3 min read
Coffee and tea have a genuinely interesting research profile: several studies associate moderate intake with favourable inflammatory markers, largely thanks to the polyphenols and antioxidants both drinks carry alongside caffeine.
Caffeine itself can disrupt sleep — particularly when consumed in the six to eight hours before bed — and poor sleep is one of the more reliable drivers of higher inflammatory load. The drink that seems to help in isolation can hurt indirectly, through your Sleep score, if timing is off.
A black coffee and a sugar-and-syrup-loaded specialty drink are nutritionally unrelated despite sharing a base ingredient — the caffeine research generally doesn't apply to the added sugar riding along with it.
A reasonable default: enjoy coffee or tea earlier in the day, watch what you add to it, and treat sleep disruption — not caffeine itself — as the thing worth paying attention to.