About a month ago, I read an article about the concept of the “coffee nap” that a friend shared on Facebook. The general idea of this coffee nap was that by drinking a cup of coffee right before a twenty minute power nap, you could somehow reap the positive effects of both the caffeine from the coffee and the restfulness of the nap and would be energized and rejuvenated in a brand new way.
To be honest, the source was not all that reliable, so I did not think much of it. I just figured it was another silly idea that would spread across the internet and be debunked by a more reliable source in the future. That is, until I actually experienced a real coffee nap.
About a week ago, I was sitting in my room on a Monday, my only day off during the week, trying to get some homework done. I was struggling to stay awake, so I decided to make myself some coffee, and shortly after drinking the coffee, I fell asleep. I woke up from my unplanned nap, and I felt oddly awake and energized. My accidental coffee nap had done just what the article said it would; so, obviously, I had to figure out why.
Here’s how it works:
It takes about twenty minutes for the caffeine in the coffee to do its job. By drinking the coffee and then sleeping immediately after, you are allowing your body to rest and giving it time to get the caffeine through your body to your brain. Therefore, since twenty minute power naps are proven to allow certain chemicals in your brain to dissipate and boost energy, the combination of this and the caffeine kicking in allows for a new kind of rejuvenation.
There is not much scientific research done on the concept of the coffee nap, but it worked for me. Maybe it will work for you!
So, here’s how you should take a coffee nap:
Step 1: Find a good place to sleep. You need to be able to sleep well and to get to sleep quickly. If you get woken up easily, make sure you are in a good, quiet spot so your power nap won’t be disrupted.
Step 2: Drink your coffee. This step is pretty straightforward. Drink your coffee quickly but not too quickly. You don’t need to be trying to sleep feeling sick from chugging your drink.
Step 3: Set your alarm. Make sure to set your alarm so that you don’t oversleep. Sleeping more than twenty minutes might have a less enjoyable effect
Step 4: Take your nap. Fall asleep, and fall asleep quick. The more quickly you can fall asleep, the better.
Hopefully, you will wake up feeling better than ever.
So, you should try out a coffee nap some time. It could be a brand new way for you to survive the crazy weeks full of projects and exams that we all know are on the way.
[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-07-at-5.01.25-PM.png” ]Erin Ramsey, Guest Contributor [/author]