Coffee Or Nap? How ‘Bout Both!

I enjoy naps, a lot. I also enjoy coffee, a lot. So when I'm tired, what's my go-to? Maybe both!  Here's why...

I've been hearing a lot about this thing called a 'coffee nap'. That's two things that I like very much, so I had to learn more. It's basically when you drink a cup of coffee, then immediately take a nap. Now, my first thought was, why the heck would I do that?! If I'm going to have a cup of coffee, it's so I can stay up and get more stuff done, not to immediately lie down! Well...it actually kind of makes sense and I might just try it.

To get why this works, you have to know how caffeine affects your body. After reading up on this, I think I get it...it goes a little like this. You drink a cup of coffee when you feel tired. When you're feeling tired, there are high levels of a chemical called Adenosine causing you to feel that way. When you sleep, your body is cleared of Adenosine. During your nap, the caffeine travels into your bloodstream, hits your brain and then blocks some of the adenosine...and then viola! you wake up more refreshed! Sounds kind of confusing, but worth a shot I think!

Now, here's the trick to the coffee nap...if you nap for longer than 20 minutes (um, yes, that would be me) than your brain is likely to enter into a deeper sleep...and you won't wake up as refreshed after a long nap...coffee or no coffee prior to napping. So basically you should be napping for about 20 mins. to benefit the most from the coffee nap. Hmm...now I'm not so sure I want to try it. I kinda really, really, enjoy my two hour naps and I don't wanna give em up!