Tag Archives: alertness

Coffee Naps?

A cup of coffee is a great mid-day pick-me-up. Power naps, as well, are also great for the same purpose, (but I wouldn’t know, I only take naps for hours). Anyway, you wouldn’t think that a cup of caffeine-filled coffee would be good for taking a nap. However, a new study shows that drinking a cup of coffee, followed by a quick 20 minute nap improves cognitive function.

The study was done on 24 year old men, who took these “coffee naps” and then took cognitive tests. They performed better on these tests than people who were given decaf secretly. This is a blind placebo test for the participants.

Supposedly, caffeine takes 20 minutes to settle in, so when you wake from the power nap, you’re supposed to be extra alert. However, the study didn’t go out to prove that the combination causes people to be more attentive; it was made to show how the reason for the increased alertness, which is adenosine, a chemical in the brain.

I was actually a little skeptical of this article because you’d think that caffeine wouldn’t mix well with a nap, but it’s definitely interesting because I often find myself extremely tired and unrefreshed after naps. I will definitely use this method for becoming more awake.

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