Whether it’s coffee, tea or any other caffeine-fueled option, a high percentage of people kickstart their days the same way. Although some may drink coffee for the taste, the popular early morning drink is what many view as a necessity shortly after waking up. Fortunately, there’s some good news about how caffeine impacts focus, concentration and both mental and physical health.
Neuroscientist and host of the Huberman Lab podcast, Andrew Huberman, addressed the long-standing debate over whether caffeine is “good” for you. And according to Huberman’s breakdown, the high percentage of coffee and tea drinkers can rejoice, because it’s good news.
Andrew Huberman Details How Caffeine Improves Focus and Mental/Physical Performance
While it’s an easy argument to make that caffeine in the morning helps to mentally get your day started, Huberman confirmed that it has a positive impact on focus and concentration. However, to take it one step further, he also revealed an interesting tidbit—caffeine can enhance both mental and physical performance.
“There is an immense amount of data supporting the idea that caffeine, provided it’s consumed in the appropriate dosages, can improve mental performance and physical performance. It largely does that through improvements in focus and concentration,” Huberman said.
Huberman highlighted that the “dosage” amount of caffeine depends on how “caffeine adapted” someone is. He explained that a general range that’s beneficial for focus and concentration is 100-400 milligrams, but stressed that if you aren’t someone who commonly drinks caffeine, the higher end of that range likely shouldn’t be considered.
Here are a few other takeaways from the segment:
- Delay drinking caffeine until 90-120 minutes after waking
- The exception to that is if you’re using caffeine to jolt your system before an early morning workout
- 100-200 milligrams before focused work is a good range
- Drinking caffeine regularly also increases the number and function of dopamine receptors, increasing motivation and drive
- Caffeine increases alertness by increasing epinephrine in the brain and the body, impacting focus and concentration
Here’s a look at the clip from the Huberman Lab podcast of this segment:
Dr. Andrew Huberman (@hubermanlab) discusses how you can use caffeine to improve your focus and concentration.
“There is an immense amount of data supporting the idea that caffeine can improve mental performance and physical performance.”
“Most people do quite well to ingest… pic.twitter.com/EY2Rf81Xdr
— Huberman Lab Clips (@HLPClips) August 28, 2025
Overall, it’s great news for coffee and tea drinkers, especially if you don’t have a tolerance that requires 2-3 cups before it really kicks in. Regardless, the benefits of caffeine on everything ranging from focus, concentration, motivation and more are interesting, especially for those who only need a cup or two per day at most.
Related: Andrew Huberman Shares Complete Guide to Nap Alternative That Boosts Energy and Focus
