Many of us have experienced the groggy feeling that accompanies an early a.m. tee time. Before that first sip of coffee touches our lips, we might be awake, but our bodies aren't ready to pull off a 220-yard 3-wood over water with a slight draw.
Experts say there are two times a day when the body typically functions at peak performance. If you want to shoot your best scores, consider booking a tee time between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. or in the late afternoon, says Darrel Drobnich, chief program officer for the National Sleep Foundation.
"There are two periods of the day when the body has less alert-ness," he says. "One is midnight to 6 a.m., the other is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m." Drobnich cautions that these cycles are thrown off if you aren't getting enough sleep (about seven to nine hours for adults).
Think of the hour or two just after these drowsy cycles as the body's warm-up period. That's why a 9 a.m. or 5 p.m. tee time makes more sense than 7 a.m. or 4 p.m.
Furthermore, the afternoon dip in alertness isn't directly related to eating a big lunch, as many people think. "It's a genetically driven period where your body has a strong sleep drive," he says. "It's why Spanish cultures have siestas."