Here's Why You Should Skip Buying Coffee At The Airport

There are few telltale signs of an amateur traveler more obvious than when they make the faux pas of ordering coffee on a flight. As several studies and flight attendants themselves have spilled, tea, coffee, or any beverage that involves airlines' unsafe tap water ranks pretty high on the long list of foods and drinks you should avoid consuming on a plane. That's partly why airports are almost always filled with queues of travelers waiting to stock up on a stash of bottled water, snacks to stave off the need for horrid in-flight meals, and last-minute tea and coffee runs.

Although grabbing a cup of java before boarding your flight is the wiser thing to do, it may be best to avoid coffee entirely — both before and during your plane journey. Though those catching an early morning flight may want to feel extra alert, they should be careful of those triple shot espressos and extra large americanos if they have a history of poor reactions to caffeine. Healthline reports that coffee can cause nausea and heartburn as well as increased stress hormone levels in some consumers. So, unless you'd like to spend your flight locked inside the loo in discomfort, it may be best to save the caffeine for after you land.

Traveling by air tends to throw a wrench into your sense of time and space, which is only heightened when you're traveling through different time zones. While there's no way to prevent this jet lag entirely, taking naps during a flight can lessen its severity, especially in the case of red-eye flights, explains Mayo Clinic. If you've guzzled a coffee at the airport, however, you might want to say goodbye to the possibility of getting any sleep.

Coffee can be a savior when long security checks and immigration queues await, but the effects of caffeine can last far longer than anticipated (via Sleep Foundation). Caffeine's effects can be felt for as long as six hours, so even if you drink coffee hours before boarding, it can still prevent you from getting much-needed sleep on your flight.

Another reason to consider skipping coffee stops at an airport is that caffeine tends to have a diuretic effect, which means you'll feel the urge to pee a lot more than you usually do. While this isn't enough to cause significant dehydration — unless you've had more than five cups of coffee — it's still a pressing inconvenience when you're traveling on a flight and sharing stinky washrooms with hundreds of co-passengers. In that case, it may be best to skip the coffee at the airport before a flight and search for cafes at your arrival airport instead.