Late one night in the lobby of my dorm I picked up Field and Stream magazine (clearly avoiding homework) and found an interesting article on an energy tip. I was searching down the Table of Contents and saw the title The Caffeine Nap. This immediately caught my interest because I happen to love both coffee and napping and wondered how the two could be related.
As I read the article I learned that sleep researchers at the Loughborough University in Britain did several tests on fatigued drivers to compare the effects of different methods that a driver can use to stay awake. They put the volunteers in driving simulators while they were sleepy and let them drive. Some of the tests included rolling down windows for cold exposure, blasting the radio and slapping oneself in the face to try to stay awake. But, what researchers found worked the best was a Caffeine Nap.
The Caffeine Nap is easy. You simply drink a cup of coffee and immediately take a 15 minute nap. Researchers found coffee helps clear your system of adenosine, a chemical which makes you sleepy. So in testing, the combination of a cup of coffee with an immediate nap chaser provided the most alertness for the longest period of time. The recommendation was to nap only 15 minutes, no more or no less and you must sleep immediately after the coffee.
I thought this tip may be useful since it is inexpensive and accessible to practically anyone. I have not tried this out for myself yet, but I intend to the next time I need a quick pick-me-up.
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2 comments:
I'm not a big fan of coffee, but this tip sounds interesting. Since it is called the caffeine nap, would it work after drinking a different substance that contained caffeine, such as pop?
I was wondering the same question myself. However, the article didn't mention anything about it. I assume it would have similiar effects though.
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