Chocolate is a fan-favorite dessert for many people, but it offers more than just a sweet treat. 

Depending on the time of day it is consumed, dark chocolate has varying benefits.

“It can give you a little bit of a boost of energy if you take it at the right time, maybe in the afternoon or a little bit in the morning,” nutritionist Lisa Schultz said.

“Dark chocolate has the most benefits because of the main ingredient in cacao, theobromine, which is the main effect that mimics caffeine in a different way than milk chocolate,” Schultz said.

According to Marta Garaulet, professor of physiology and nutrition at the University of Murcia, eating chocolate in the morning generally lowers cortisol levels.

“Cortisol is a hormone, which is a substance that our body produces and is able to transmit information from one organ to another,” said Garaulet. “In general, a high cortisol is a bad signal because it means that you are stressed all the time.”

When chocolate is eaten at night, it may increase carbohydrate reserves in the muscle and liver, Garaulet said.

“Carbohydrates may be promoted [which] can be advisable for next morning performance, because you have available carbohydrates to be burned in an exercise,” Garaulet said.

Junior Sasha Semmelhack likes to eat chocolate before her flag football or soccer games.

“I love chocolate, so I feel like it just puts me in a better mood,” said Semmelhack. “But also, I feel like sometimes it gives me just a little bit of an energy boost just because it’s something sweet.”

Eating dark chocolate with 70 percent to 80 percent cacao can be beneficial as it can boost dopamine and caffeine in the body, and also increase mood, Schultz said.

Semmelhack also likes to eat chocolate before a big test.

“For example, one test strategy that my tutoring center gave me was to eat a piece of chocolate before the test and one during the test break to give me a little extra energy to finish the test,” Semmelhack said.

Dark chocolate is an option when trying to go through natural ways to make the body perform better mentally, physically, with focus, concentration, or improved energy during workouts or studying, Schultz said.

Despite the many lesser-known benefits of eating chocolate, the treat still has its disadvantages. 

The biggest disadvantage of eating chocolate is overeating, said Binkai Liu, Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.

“Just always be mindful that chocolate is a good treat, but it has to be a part of a balanced diet to have its most advantage in your health,” Liu said.

According to Schultz, eating too much dark chocolate will increase calorie, sugar and fat intake. 

“The more that you eat of anything, the more of an effect it’s going to have on you, both good and bad,” Schultz said.