Sunday, August 25, 2024

Coffee Nap

I was recently introduced to the concept of a "coffee nap". It involves drinking a cup of coffee and then taking a 20 minute nap. Some researchers think that the combination is more effective than relying on just coffee or napping by itself.

The theory is that caffeine works by blocking a neurotransmitter called adenosine (aka "tiredness" chamical). It takes 20 minutes for caffeine to enter your bloodstream, so by napping during that window you wake up both restored and stimulated.

An effective coffee nap is most beneficial in the early- to mid-afternoon. That's late enough in the day that the body has built up a supply of adenosine, but early enough that the caffeine won't interfere with nighttime sleeping.

I tested out the coffee nap theory this afternoon. At 1:15 pm I carried my cell phone and afternoon cup of coffee into the bedroom. After I turned on the ceiling fan to circulate the air and the radio to provide a little background noise I got comfortable in bed, slurped the coffee down, and used my phone to set a timer for 20 minutes.

At first I was convinced I wasn't going to fall asleep, but when the timer went off it took me a while to figure out what the noise was and turn it off. Often when I nap it takes me ten minutes to fully wake up and get out of bed, but today there was no wake up period. I was able to hop out of bed and go about my business with extra energy.

Five years ago: Clean, Clean, Clean

14 comments:

  1. I've heard of this theory and your experience is interesting and intriguing! I should give this a try myself . . . .

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    1. It would be interesting to know if you have a similar result.

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  2. That is a very interesting theory and you've road-tested it and found it good. I shall tell all my coffee drinking family about it. It won't work for me - I don't drink coffee and only occasionally tea. Boo!

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    1. You'll have to discover a good hack on your own.

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  3. Coffee is not everyone's cup of tea.

    God bless.

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  4. Replies
    1. That's what I thought the first time I tasted it, but over the years it's grown on me.

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  5. that is an unusual theory- caffeine and napping. Why do you have to wake up after 20 minutes if you still are asleep? Can it be iced coffee?

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    1. I believe the theory is that if you nap too long you will enter a REM cycle, and it's difficult if you wake in the middle of it. I don't know why iced coffee wouldn't work

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  6. I can't nap usually but good for you

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    1. The older I get the more a quick catnap sounds very attractive :-)

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  7. I do this, but its when I wake up early, like at 5:00, which is the time I often get up when I take cats to a clinic. But when I have nothing I have to do early, I do a few of the daily chores, then drink a cup of coffee and go back to bed and have the best sleep, usually waking up about 8:00.

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    1. I'm glad you've figured out what works best for you.

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