Should I take a probiotic in the morning or at night?

You can take a probiotic supplement either first thing in the morning or last thing at night (before bed); the choice is based on what works best for you and your daily routine. You can expect to experience an increased number of benefits should you opt to take your probiotic at the end of the day as opposed to in the morning. At nighttime, your probiotics can be more effective in some ways as the body is not working or moving as much as it is during the day. Therefore this can allow for the probiotic bacteria to make their way through the body to the gut microbiome both easier and with fewer disruptions. Not only can the effectiveness of a probiotic be improved when taken at night, but it can also aid those who have difficulties with sleeping! Once again if you decided to take your probiotic supplement at night time then it can help you to both fall asleep faster as well as help encourage healthier sleep cycles. We will be exploring these benefits and what you need to remember to ensure you are not hindering the effectiveness of your probiotics with food or drink through the rest of today's blog post. We have published many posts on the topic of probiotics so if you do want to find out more after today's post then you can always go back to our blog page to find the area of discussion you would like to find out more about. We’ve covered everything from what a probiotic is made from, how to store it and even what it can help with! But for today, let's continue the focus on whether you should take it in the morning or at night… 

What happens when you take a probiotic at night?

Believe it or not but there are a significant number of benefits that you can experience if you were to opt to take your probiotic in the evening as opposed to first thing in the morning. If you were to decide to take your probiotic at night, when your bowel is not moving, then there is a much better chance that the probiotic bacteria will remain longer and integrate naturally into your gut! This can allow the process of the probiotic bacteria to work through your gut much more effectively which can be highly beneficial for gut health! You want to make sure that the process (for the probiotics to reach the gut) is as unobstructed and easy as possible; the more difficult it is the less likely the bacteria will be able to hold together to reach where it needs to go. Not only can taking a probiotic at night positively impact the effectiveness of the supplement and make it easier for you to have your meals throughout the day - it can also have a direct effect on the quality of your sleep. It is known that probiotics can help you to fall asleep much more easily at nighttime as well as encourage healthy sleep cycles.

How long after eating should I wait to take probiotics?

If you are taking your probiotic first thing in the morning, then you will want to be aware that you should give yourself at least 2-3 hours before eating after taking your supplement. This is to ensure that your body is not trying to process both the probiotic bacteria and the food all at once; as food can affect the bacteria's ability at reaching the gut without being obstructed. If you have already eaten before taking your probiotic supplement for the day, you might want to wait until you have finished eating all of your meals for the day; instead, take your probiotic supplement before bed. 

Can I drink coffee with a probiotic?

You do not need to worry about taking probiotics at the time as you are having a mug of coffee in the morning. Although, it is advised that you perhaps put the coffee or hot drink down momentarily whilst you take your probiotic with a glass of water instead. Whilst it should not affect the probiotic supplement itself, you might not want to use a few sips of coffee as your drink of choice to help you take your supplement. It might cause some gas or bloating which might be very uncomfortable plus there is always a risk of burning your throat when using a hot drink to swallow down supplements. Therefore, water is always advised as the best drink for swallowing any supplements. Once you have taken your probiotic supplement, with water, you can go right back to your hot drink of choice. The one thing that will affect your probiotics when it comes to hot drinks is if you mix your supplements into them. It is not advised that you mix a probiotic supplement directly into any hot drink as heat can kill most types of probiotic bacteria. Therefore, we would advise you not to mix your probiotic into any hot drink. The science behind why drinking a hot drink, like coffee, after using water to take your probiotic all comes down to body temperature. By the time your body can withstand a hot drink, the temperature will be much more manageable to ensure it is cool enough to drink. The hot drink with become closer to body temperature which is not just safe to drink but will also have no impact on your probiotics as they can withstand body temperature without the bacteria getting killed. So, to clarify, yes you can enjoy a mug of coffee whilst taking a probiotic but it’s best to use water to help you swallow your probiotic. However never mix it into any hot drink! 

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