AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new health study finds morning coffee drinkers may have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Researchers looked at food diaries of 40,000 participants for almost two decades and found those who drank coffee in the morning were 31% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and a 16% reduced risk in all-cause mortality risk. Dr. Anirudh Bhargava, a cardiologist at Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David's Round Rock, said the study only reaffirms the link between coffee and heart health. “Coffee itself seems to have some really great benefits. The coffee that we drink, which is filtered coffee, can have benefits on cholesterol, and coffee also contains hundreds of compounds that have some anti-inflammatory effects for the body. That's why it actually may be beneficial against the inflammatory state that's associated with heart disease.” The study cited previous research showing late coffee drinking may disturb sleeping patterns, which Bhargava said is important to understand. “I think what it really shows is that conventional wisdom about balancing coffee consumption and sleep is true. We know sleep is important, and excess caffeine later in the day can disrupt melatonin production and impact sleep quality and quantity leading to more oxidative stress on the body. So we already knew that sleep was so crucial to our health. I think this just reaffirms that coffee is good, but so is sleep.”