Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Health and Fitness

    This is the best time to eat breakfast, apparently

    According to science

    Lucy Abbersteen's avatar
    By Lucy Abbersteen
    Published 21 November 2016 In Buying Guides

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    best time to eat breakfast
    (Image credit: Rex Features (Shutterstock))
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    According to science

    As children, it's drummed into our heads that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and one that we should never skip. With busy lives and hectic schedules, it can be really hard to stick to a routine when it comes to planning your meals and eating right.

    If you struggle with ideas for breakfast, we recommend you try out these fat-burning breakfast recipes to start your day off right. Rest assured, your body will thank you for it. Or, you know, you could try one of these breakfast delivery services and get your first meal of the day sent straight to your desk.

    But something that we've always asked ourselves is: When exactly is the best time to eat our breakfast in the mornings? Well, we finally have the answer, and it's all thanks to science.

    Expert Dr Oz says that you should always eat your breakfast within an hour of waking up in the morning. Speaking to Pop Sugar, the health professional said that you should then eat lunch about four and a half hours after this, and then have dinner a couple of hours after that.

    If you adopt this routine and, more importantly, make sure that you stick to it, then you're much less likely to eat junk food throughout the day. This is because if you delay meal times that your body is used to, you're more likely to eat snacks that are bad for you. Pretty simple, really.

    What's more, having dinner three hours before you go to bed will avoid indigestion, as you won't be going to bed on a stomach full of undigested food.

    There you have it: The key is to have set meal times that you actually stick to, every day. Now, we'll just set an alarm for our breakfast tomorrow...

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Lucy Abbersteen
    Lucy Abbersteen
    Social Links Navigation
    Beauty Contributor

    Lucy is a freelance beauty editor and contributor at Marie Claire, and has also written for titles including Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, Glamour and woman&home. She was previously Marie Claire’s junior beauty editor. During her career, she’s covered everything from backstage beauty at fashion week to interviews with famous faces like Drag Race royalty and Little Mix. As for her beauty ethos, she’s a big advocate for not having to spend a fortune on beauty products to get good results. When she’s not got beauty on the brain you’ll probably find her reading or Netflix-ing.

    Read more
    A gua sha, a breakfast tray, and a woman in her pajamas in bed
    Wellbeing I Tried 3 Science-Backed, Expert-Approved Screen-Time Resets—and the Effect on My Focus and Sleep Was Remarkable
    A woman stretching on a yoga mat
    Wellbeing Forget Morning Routines—Experts Say 'Micro-Recovery' Is the Wellness Habit to Prioritise
     
     
    A woman lying on the floor scrolling on her phone
    Female health If You're Frazzled, Overworked and At Your Limit, These 5 Science-Backed Tips Can Help Avoid Burnout
    Emily English, aka Em The Nutritionist, cooking and with a plate of gut-health friendly food
    Nutrition Em The Nutritionist: "You Can't Optimise Your Way Out of Chronic Stress or Exhaustion With a Spoonful of Fermented Vegetables"
     
     
    Latest in Health and Fitness
    Woman stretching and practicing basic Pilates moves at home
    Fitness Everyone's Talking About These Basic Pilates Moves RN—So I Asked a Trainer to Rank the Most Effective
    Health freelancer Ash S trying an evening swim and sauna to boost calm
    Fitness My Mind Usually Races At Night—Until This Evening Swim and Sauna Ritual Calmed My Nervous System
     
     
    Health freelance writer Katie Sims trying a 20-minute wind down bedtime ritual
    Wellbeing I Swapped My Evening Scroll for a 20-Minute Wind-Down Ritual—Two Weeks Later, I Sleep Completely Differently
    Freelance writer Ash S during her bone broth experiment, where she drank it every day
    Nutrition I Drank Bone Broth Before Breakfast for a Month—and My Gut Health Wasn't the Only Thing That Changed
     
     
    Latest in Buying Guides
    30 AW26 BUYS
    Fashion 30 of the Most Sought-After New Season Buys to Kick-Start Your Autumn/Winter 2026 Wardrobe
    Senior Health Editor trying Rapha, Pas Normal, Universal Colours, and Jelenew cycling gear, in Richmond Park and Brighton
    Fitness I'm a Fashion-Conscious Health Editor Who Just Started Cycling—6 Brands That Finally Nailed Style and Performance
     
     
    Best foundation balms
    Make Up If You’ve Fallen Out of Love With Foundation in Your 30s, This Hydrating, Blurring Alternative Still Gives Impressive Coverage
    Reformation Sale
    Fashion The Reformation Summer Sale Is Full of Autumn Buys—So I Spent Two Hours Finding the Best Ones
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.