Breakfast isn’t just about what you eat — it may also matter when you eat.
But it’s not the same for everyone. “There isn’t one universal ‘best time’ to eat breakfast,” says Zaid Jabbar, MD, a board-certified obesity medicine specialist and chair of the obesity medicine and weight management department for Duly Health and Care in the Chicago area. “It depends on a person’s health, schedule, activity level, and goals.”
Experts generally agree that skipping breakfast is not a good idea, and research has found that it can increase the risk of being overweight or
obese.
“If you don’t have a really good breakfast, a lot of times people overcompensate and eat more at lunch and dinner,” says
Gabrielle Gambino, RD, a senior dietitian with NewYork-Presbyterian’s Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.
Plus, a regular breakfast habit has been shown to have cardio and metabolic health benefits.
Why Breakfast Timing Matters
You may pay close attention to what you’re eating without giving any thought to when you’re eating (known as chrononutrition). Here’s what we know about how the time you eat breakfast influences your overall health.
Your Body’s Internal Clock
Your body’s internal clock regulates your
circadian rhythms, or the specific daily patterns for your body’s sleep times, temperature, and energy levels. It times feelings of hunger so you eat during daylight hours when your body can process nutrients and energy efficiently. Typically, your body controls your circadian rhythm with hormones and genetics. Outside cues such as sunlight, exercise, and eating can also influence your circadian rhythm
.“Regular morning meals may improve blood sugar regulation, coordinate hormone release, support digestion, and reinforce healthy sleep-wake rhythms,” Dr. Jabbar says.
Aligning mealtimes with your body’s natural circadian rhythm (generally eating breakfast, lunch, and
dinner earlier in the day rather than later) may benefit your
metabolic health, which refers to how the body uses energy for necessary functions like breathing and digestion.
“Most of the time when we feed our bodies earlier in the morning, these clocks work efficiently,” Gambino says. Research suggests that eating and sleeping at times that don’t align with the body’s circadian rhythm can increase the risk of obesity.
The Morning Insulin Advantage
“That means the body generally handles carbohydrates more efficiently in the morning,” Jabbar says. This can help with weight loss, blood sugar control, or fueling a morning workout.
Interestingly, this isn’t always true for those with
diabetes. Some people with diabetes experience the
dawn phenomenon — an early-morning rise in blood sugar caused by overnight hormone changes.
“The best approach [for these individuals] is to monitor individual glucose responses, choose lower-glycemic foods, and work with a healthcare provider to personalize meal timing and treatment,” Jabbar says.
Front-Loading Energy for Metabolic Health
Front-loading, or energy-loading, is the idea that eating most of your calories earlier in the day is good for your metabolic health.
“The body can more easily digest nutrients in the morning, and the cells are more ready to take them up and use them more efficiently,” Gambino says.
A systematic review of 41 randomized controlled trials that included nearly 2,300 participants found that eating meals earlier in the day (finishing the last meal by 5 p.m., for example) was better for weight and blood sugar control than eating meals later in the day.
How to Find Your Ideal Breakfast Window
Ultimately, you’ll need to determine what works best for you and your lifestyle. “The ideal time to eat breakfast varies from person to person and depends on factors such as your natural sleep-wake pattern, work schedule, exercise routine, metabolic health, medications, pregnancy, age, and appetite,” Jabbar says.
The Early Shift (6 to 8 a.m.)
Several studies suggest that eating earlier in the morning may be associated with benefits ranging from better weight management to a lower risk of chronic disease. One small study found that an early breakfast (between about 6:45 and 7:30 a.m.) was associated with greater weight loss after 12 weeks than breakfast between 8:10 and 9:10 a.m.
Eating before 8 a.m. (and stopping for the day by 8 p.m.) was linked with a reduced risk of
heart disease in one large observational study.
And an observational study involving the same data for more than 100,000 adults from the previous study found that those who ate before 8 a.m. were less likely to have type 2 diabetes than those who ate at 9 a.m. or later.
An early breakfast may be particularly helpful for older adults. One study found that older individuals who ate breakfast later in the morning were more likely to die prematurely and experience
depression, sleepiness, and oral health issues. Researchers observed that for every hour later that breakfast occurred, there was an associated 11 percent higher risk of death within the next 10 years.
The Midmorning Window (9 to 11 a.m.)
Some individuals may benefit from a later breakfast, though, such as those with type 2 diabetes who experience the dawn phenomenon mentioned earlier. One small study involving people with type 2 diabetes found that delaying breakfast from 7 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. or 12 p.m. had better post-meal blood sugar levels, with a 9:30 a.m. breakfast offering the biggest improvements.
The ‘Fitness-First’ Approach
Breakfast is an important consideration for morning exercisers, but how much and when to eat depends on the intensity of your workout; fuel requirements for a 10-mile run are different than for a 15-minute yoga routine.
“It definitely depends on the activity, but most dietitians recommend at least something to give your body some support,” Gambino says. Going into an intense workout fasted may add stress to the body and make it harder to perform or recover, she adds.
Before your morning workout, Jabbar recommends waiting 30 to 60 minutes if you eat a small snack, or two hours if you have a light breakfast. “Ultimately, the best timing varies from person to person, so paying attention to how your body feels during exercise can help you determine what works best for you,” he adds.
Follow your workout with a carbohydrate and protein-packed meal within two hours of cooldown to help with muscle recovery.
The Case for Delaying Breakfast
Studies suggest
intermittent fasting, which involves alternating periods of not eating with scheduled hours of normal eating, may improve blood sugar control, body weight,
blood pressure,
cholesterol levels, and
chronic inflammation in the short term.
One review that looked at several types of intermittent fasting (including time-restricted eating, zero-calorie alternate-day fasting, and twice-per-week fasting diet) found that alternating periods of eating and fasting resulted in decreased waist circumference, fat mass, and LDL cholesterol levels.
One type of intermittent fasting called
time-restricted eating involves fasting for up to 16 hours a day and eating normally for the remaining hours, such as eating only between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Research hasn’t determined the long-term effects yet, however.
If you’re going to fast, it’s best to eat earlier in the day rather than shifting most calories into the evening, Jabbar says.
Eating a late breakfast, because you’re intermittent fasting or for other reasons, isn’t recommended for pregnant women, children, or those who take diabetes medications, have a history of eating disorders, or who exercise intensely early in the day, Jabbar says.
Rachel Green
Rachel Davis
Derek Schulz
Sophia Martinez
Dr. Amara Okafor