The research suggests the best time for getting intimate with your partner is 7.30am. Photo / 123rf
The best time to have sex is at 7.30am - around 45 minutes after you wake up, according to new research.
Energy levels are at their highest after a good night's rest which means both sexes have more stamina.
The rush of endorphins sparked by sex lowers your blood pressure and stress levels and makes you feel more upbeat for the rest of the day.
The findings are from a survey by Forza Supplements, which asked 1,000 healthy and active people to report on the optimal times to engage in activities for their body clocks.
It also found that the ideal time for a run is just before - at 7am. Experts say doing cardio exercise in a fasted state (i.e. before breakfast) leads to a small increase in the amount of fat being burned.
That is because blood sugar, insulin and glycogen levels are all lower than normal after an overnight fast.
Concentration levels peak around three hours after we have woken up, so it is best to save the most taxing jobs of the day at work for around 9.45am.
Around an hour later, stress levels peak at 10.45am - most typically early in the week when our to-do lists are heaviest, so this is the best time to relax.
The best time for an alcoholic drink is 6.10pm - what many would call 'wine o'clock' - four hours before we go to bed to maximise the time for liver recovery.
The ideal for sleep is at 10.10pm - allowing for 20 minutes to get to sleep and 90 minutes of the most restorative non-REM sleep which is most likely to occur prior to midnight.
6.45am - Wake-up
This is ideal after between seven and nine hours of sleep. You need more sleep up to the age of 18 (typically up to 10 hours for a young teen) but it is myth that we need less sleep as we get older.
7am - Go for a run
Research shows that doing cardio-exercise in a fasted state (ie before breakfast) leads to a small increase in the amount of fat being burned. That is because blood sugar, insulin and glycogen levels are all lower than normal after an overnight fast.
7.15am - Breakfast
This should be around 30 minutes after waking. Around 84 per cent of respondents in the Forza study said that sticking to defined meal times is the best way to lose weight.
7.30am - Sex
Ideally around 45 minutes after waking to get over night-time grogginess and allow you to be completely refreshed. Both sexes have more energy because they are well rested. Male testosterone levels peak in the morning, meaning they last longer in bed.
9.45am - Work
Research shows we reach our mental peak around three hours after waking. Your concentration, memory, focus and creativity should be best at this time of the day. Use this period to do that work that needs your best thinking, rather than using it for other tasks.
10.45am - Relax
This is when our stress levels are at their highest, particularly early on in the week when to-do lists tend to be biggest.
12.15pm - Lunch
This should be four hours after eating breakfast. Three-quarters of those surveyed (75 per cent) found they benefited from never skipping a midday meal.
3.30pm - Watch out for 'snack o'clock'
This is when our willpower is at its weakest. Four out of ten respondents (39 per cent) said that mid-afternoon was when they were most likely to break a diet.
6pm - Dinner
Don't pig out even if you have been watching your calories all day. The vast majority of dieters surveyed by Forza (72 per cent) said the key to successful weight loss was not to exceed your lunch-time calorie count at dinner - so you have even calorie intake throughout the day.
6.10pm - Wine 'o-clock
This is when we unwind after a long day at work. The key is not to leave it too late because your body needs at least four hours for your liver to recover from alcohol consumption before sleep.
6.30pm - Weights
Most studies find that strength is at a low point in the morning and gradually climbs until it tops in the early evening. The Forza research found that if training involved a lot of strength or power-based exercise, performance in the gym was best after work in the early evening.
10.10pm - Bed
This allows us 20 minutes to get to sleep and then 90 minutes for the most restorative non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep which is best achieved before midnight.
When 'snack o-clock' strikes
The study also pinpointed the weak moments when are most likely to put on weight by needing a sugar rush - or snack o'clock. This is at 3.30pm - when we are starting to lag at work - and 8.15pm, when we are relaxing in front of the TV - so this is the best time to exercise your willpower.
The best times to eat breakfast is 7.15am, lunch is 2.15pm and dinner is 6pm if you want to maximise weight loss, found the study.
The key to healthy eating was not to have an uneven calorie intake throughout the day, according to 72 per cent of respondents.
The study also highlighted the optimum times of the day to work-out.
Around half of those who took part (54 per cent) found their calorie burn from running was best with pre-breakfast run at around 7am.
Strength levels do build up during the day and 52 per cent of gym fans who like to lift weights found they were most effective after work, with 6.30pm being the favoured time.
More than half (56 per cent) felt they were not getting the optimum eight hours of sleep a night, and this was impacting on our effectiveness throughout the day.
Are you not a morning person?
Most people's body clocks are broadly similar, but there is scientific evidence to back up some people's beliefs that they are not "a morning person".
Scientists have long known that we all have an individual chronotype - the main biological trait that explains why some people spring out of bed feeling alert while others struggle.
If you are a 'night owl' type who rises later, experts suggest you could simply adjust the recommended timetable by how ever much later you wake up after the optimum time of 6.45am.
So if you wake at 8.45am, the rest of timetable should be two hours later with a bedtime of just after midnight.
Colin Espie, professor of sleep medicine at Oxford University, previously told MailOnline that people should not force themselves to become a morning person.
He said: "It's important for people to experiment and find the sleep pattern that feels comfortable."
But he stressed: "Get up and go to bed at roughly the same time to ensure your internal clock is set to and working towards the same time each day.
"A long lie-in on a Sunday effectively resets your body clock to New York time. If you get up at midday, your internal clock is confused as it expects more time awake and - teamed with anxiety about the coming week - hey presto, you have Sunday night insomnia."
Forza Supplements managing director Lee Smith said: 'While no two people are the same, these were found to be the very best times for the average person to do the key activities which make for a healthy and happy life.
"Making small adjustments to your routine can really help you to lose weight, get fitter, be more effective at work and even a better lover.'"