Is Your Morning Routine and Coffee Wrecking Your Hormones?

Liz Riesen, RD
Jan 19
5 min read

You roll out of bed immediately thinking about everyone else’s needs. Get the kids up, lunches packed, keep track of time. You know emails are waiting, the calendar is full...

So the first thing you do is grab a cup of coffee.

Not because you're going to enjoy and savor this cup (though you wish you had the time), but because you need it to function.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not doing anything “wrong.”

But if we take a moment to stop and think about your hormones -- they're likely asking for a different kind of support.

So let’s talk about coffee, cortisol, and how your morning routine could be draining your energy instead of fueling it—especially if you’re already feeling tired, overwhelmed, or hormonally “off.”

Cortisol: Your Body's Natural Wake Up Call

Cortisol is most often talked about negatively as our "stress" hormone that we need to decrease. However, cortisol is extremely important and helpful to us, especially if you're feeling tired and have difficulty waking up in the morning.

Cortisol is what helps you wake up feeling alert, helps you focus and think clearly, and helps manage stress and metabolism throughout your day.

Your body begins producing cortisol before you wake up, with levels rising and peaking within two hours of waking. We call this rise and peak of cortisol your cortisol awakening response, or your CAR. In order to do this effectively, your body needs to predict what time you'll wake up.

So you can understand why waking up around the same time each day, and going to bed around the same time, is extremely helpful to your body's hormone production.

When this rhythm is supported, you feel:

More steady energy
Better mood
Less reliance on caffeine just to "get through" the morning

When it’s not supported? That’s where things can unravel.

How Stress (and Coffee) Can Throw Off Hormones

If you’re living in a constant state of stress—poor sleep, under-eating, heavy mental load, hormone shifts including perimenopause—your cortisol patterns change.

If cortisol runs too high:

Coffee can push it even higher
You can feel anxious, wired, irritable or shaky
Energy crashes come fast and hard

If cortisol runs too low:

Coffee can temporarily prop you up, but will lead to a crash
Coffee can blunt cortisol production later in the day
You're more likely to experience fatigue, brain fog, low motivation, and low mood

This doesn’t mean coffee is “bad” or that you need to give it up forever.

It means timing and context matter.

Interested in testing your cortisol? Cortisol is best measured over a 24-hour period and in relation to other hormones, like in the DUTCH Complete Panel

woman reading magazine and holding coffee cup

What Happens When Coffee Is the First Thing Your Body Gets

Drinking coffee immediately upon waking can stimulate your adrenal glands to release more cortisol than your body is ready for. This can contribute to:

Blood sugar crashes and intense cravings for carbs or sugar, especially mid-morning
Anxiety or nervous energy
Afternoon slumps (looking at you 2–4 pm)
Hormone imbalances involving progesterone, estrogen, and even thyroid

Coffee isn’t the enemy—but how and when you drink it matters more than most women realize.

5 Tips For A Morning Routine That Supports Hormones

So let's talk about how you can shift your morning routine and particularly that cup of coffee first thing in the morning - so that you're supporting your hormones and stabilizing energy in the day.

Get Natural Light First

Open the curtains or step outside for a few minutes. Light signals your brain that it’s morning and supports natural cortisol production and mood regulation.

Delay Coffee by 60–90 Minutes

This gives your body time to complete its' natural cortisol rise without interruption of caffeine. In place of early morning coffee, try mineral water, herbal tea, or electrolytes.

Add Movement, But Match It To Your State of Stress

Movement is a natural way to regulate cortisol, but more is not always better.

Feeling wired and anxious? Morning workouts can help regulate cortisol.

Feeling exhausted and depleted? Stick to gentle movement like stretching, yoga, or a walk.

Eat Something Before Caffeine

This helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent cravings or crashes mid-morning.

If you're hungry for breakfast, focus on a protein-rich breakfast (think eggs, avocado, yogurt, overnight oats) before caffeine. This helps stabilize blood sugar and prevents a steep spike and drop in cortisol and energy.

If you're not hungry in the morning, try adding MCT powder or collagen to your coffee to help reduce blood sugar swings.

Intermittent fasting? You can add a Prolon's fasting shake or bar before or with your cup of coffee. Clinically tested to lengthen and sustain your fast when you eat either the Prolon Fasting Shake or the Prolon Fasting Bar.

My Tip: The chocolate fasting shake blended with a cup of coffee makes a delicious mocha!

Pay Attention to Patterns

Do you crash mid-morning? Feel shaky or anxious after coffee? Need sugar to keep going?

These are signals, communication from your body that your current routine is not working anymore.

This Is Where Personalized Support Matters

Just like life is constantly changing—our routines should to. Your stress levels, sleep quality, cycle phase, hormone patterns, and nutrition all play a role in how your body responds to coffee, food, and movement.

This is why one-size-fits-all advice rarely works long-term.

Simple Takeaways to Start This Week

Don’t remove coffee—adjust timing
Support cortisol before stimulating it
Stabilize blood sugar early in the day
Match movement to how your body actually feels
Stop ignoring the signs your energy is giving you

Small shifts done consistently can change how you feel all day.

Want to Feel Better—Without Overhauling Your Life?

If you’re tired of guessing, Googling, and pushing through symptoms, I’d love to support you.

In my Foundations of Hormone Balance Program, we:

Identify what’s driving your symptoms through in-depth health history + hormone testing
Address key foundational areas affecting hormone balance including nutrient needs, nervous system regulation, inflammation, and cortisol (stress) response
Build a realistic nutrition and daily routine that fits your life
Create sustainable changes—not temporary fixes

👉 Message me or fill out my short inquiry form, and I’ll be in touch to schedule a free discovery call so we can talk through your symptoms + goals,and see if we're a good fit.

You don’t need more discipline.

You need a plan that works with your body