You are getting tired, struggling to make it through your day. You only have 30 minutes before your break is over. What do you do? Get a cup of coffee? Take a power nap? Why not both?
Caffeine Naps Explained
A coffee nap is when you drink a cup of coffee right before a 15 to 20 minute nap to instantly recharge. A major boost to the regular take on a power nap! While the idea sounds counter-intuitive, it works with some staggering results.
Yes caffeine is used to prevent us from sleeping, and sleeping is used to prevent us from caffeine intake, it is right to be confused and a little untrustworthy of this idea. Thankfully we have science backing this up, and if there is anything we can trust, it is a scientist that is much smarter than we can hope to be – because they aren’t so tired due to coffee naps.
You may want to check out: Best Coffee Makers
Science, Studies and Research
Science has discovered a chemical in our brain called Adenosine that basically causes you to become sleepy. The reason caffeine stops us from being so tired is due to caffeine taking the place of the Adenosine, causing our brain to think we aren’t so tired after all. Though we all know how long that trick works.
Scientists have also discovered that sleeping for short bursts of time also make us less sleepy. Studies have shown that a 15 minute nap can make the next hour of driving safer for you. 10 to 20 minutes of a nap boosts your alertness, which is always a good thing to have in excess.
For In-Depth Review Click on How Does Caffeine Really Affect Sleep
# Of Minutes For Caffeine To Kick In
So we know that both coffee and napping are effective tools for making it through the slog of life, but how are these two things effective when combined? Well for anyone that has drank a cup of coffee, you know the effects are not immediate. You have to give the caffeine some time to kick in. Guess how much time that is? You got it, about 20 minutes.
You may be interested in: Should I Power Nap at Work?
Steps of Coffee Napping
Since all of this science has convinced you to give this coffee napping a try, you obviously have a few questions for how this all works. There are a few simple steps you must follow:
1. Drink Coffee
2. Set a 20 Minute Timer
3. Sleep
Pretty simple right? Well. Not so much. Sure you can brew the coffee and set the timer, but the sleeping part is not always the easiest. In fact, falling asleep after downing a cup of coffee might not happen until the 20 minutes are almost up! The point is, don’t panic if you aren’t falling asleep immediately. The main thing you should be focusing on in this sleeping part is to not focus on anything. Empty your mind. Do the best that you can. You need to remember, you are not napping like you normally would. You are power napping. You are not going to get that full nights sleep you might be used to. You might not even feel like you have slept at all, and that is perfectly fine. You do not need to get that full and deep sleep, you may only be asleep for about five minutes, maybe even less.
The important thing to note is that you will still get the full effects of this magical coffee nap. In theory, you should be waking up right when the caffeine gets to your brain, blocking those pesky drowsy inducing chemicals, which are already low due to you having that nap. See the secret of this now? It’s all about the science! Didn’t catch how to do it? Watch this video
You may want to read: How to Fall Asleep After Drinking Coffee
Things to Consider
While coffee napping is a life-saver for many people. It does not have to be coffee in order for a coffee nap to work. Finding something that has a similar caffeine content to coffee can work just fine. Just make sure it allows you ample time for the caffeine to take effect. So generous is the caffeine nap, to us undeserving vessels, that it does not require the substance we drink to even be coffee. Praise be to coffee naps, and their life saving ways.
Still a skeptic? Why not give it a try? All it will take is a cup of coffee and twenty minutes of your time. You’ll be glad that you took this advice. Like what you read? Share it with your friends or comment on your results.