Coffee Napping: Amp Up Your Productivity

Do you ever suffer from drowsiness especially during the afternoons? Have you ever had cause to regret not being at your best during any your daily grind because you were very drowsy? And do you ever wish that you could get rid of this problem?

If so, you’re not alone. Truth is, drowsiness (especially in the afternoons) is a growing problem for most working adults.

Fortunately, however, if you belong to this group, you don’t have to suffer from drowsiness once you know how to coffee nap in the right way.

Just like the name, a coffee nap is a brief nap that you take once you've finished drinking a cup of coffee.

The reason for combining the coffee and the nap is to prevent you from being drowsy while at work and to also prevent you from oversleeping while at work.

The obvious difference between napping and coffee napping is that napping does not involve taking coffee before the nap, but coffee napping involves taking coffee before the nap.

Also, if you only have a few minutes (minimum of 20 minutes) to relax, having a coffee nap is more advisable than just having a nap.

However, if you can spare the time, take a usual nap that lasts for at least 60 minutes. The table below summarizes the 3 major differences between the two of them:

Scientists observed that the combination of coffee and a nap, often called a coffee nap is more productive than either a nap or a cup of coffee separately.

This assumption was based on observations of behavior, learning, perception, and reasoning of adults that took a coffee nap. In this section, you will discover the results of some of these research.

1) Loughborough University, UK

The University of Britain at Loughborough was one of the pioneers of research into the positive effects of coffee nap.

The main goal of this research was to fight against driver sleepiness which was becoming very rampant.

The researchers allowed fatigued drivers to partake in a series of driving tests (including a driving simulator) after they took a coffee nap, they discovered that these set of drivers made fewer driving mistakes than those who only drank coffee or just took a nap.

The results of this research made local authorities to include a coffee nap in their highway code.

2) Hiroshima University, Japan

In Japan, research scientists also discovered that those who had a coffee nap before undergoing a memory tests had better performance than those who only took a nap.

Also, these people who took a coffee nap also performed better in memory tests than those who combined taking a nap with washing their faces and those who combined taking a nap with having a bright light flashed in their eyes after their nap.

3) Wright State University, USA

Another research involved 24 young men were deprived of sleep for 24 hours

12 of them were made to take a coffee nap, while the remaining 12 were made to nap without taking a coffee. When both groups were made to undergo cognition tests, those who took coffee before their naps performed remarkably better than those who didn't.

This is the science behind the effectiveness of coffee naps. First, you need to understand the simple process of what happens when you drink a cup of coffee.

If you have ever wanted to know whether or not having a coffee nap has any benefits, then, read on. That's because in this section, you will discover six main benefits of having a coffee before nap.

1) Improvement of athletic functionalities

If you often find it difficult to exercise after coming back from work, I strongly suggest you take a brief coffee nap. It has been proven that short naps can cause better motor reaction, improve sprint times (especially for athletes) and other athletic functionalities.

For athletes who've had a poor night sleep before a competition, the benefits of using a caffeine nap cannot be overemphasized. (source)

2) Reduces stress hormones that encourage cravings

Most times when we are tired, our desire to eat increases. When we can’t find something to eat, we would still love to have something similar to food in our mouths.

For most people, those things can either be coffee, soda, sweets, or chocolate.

However, a brief 10 to 15 minutes’ nap is more effective for reducing the stress than this sweet addiction that can cause health problems associated with having unstable blood sugar.

In addition to the reduction of stress, this nap will restore and improve your willpower and concentration.
By the way, one other effective way to control your cravings is by taking a short walk after your brief power nap. (source) (source)

3) Amplifies heart functioning

It is an obvious fact that when you don't sleep properly, your coronary mortality is increased.

But new evidence from the Harvard School of Public Health And The University of Athens Medical School suggests that napping can help you to make up for this lack of sleep.

Through their research, they discovered that on average, those who took regular naps had lower coronary mortality than the people who didn't.

By definition, regular coffee naps as defined by the researchers mean napping for at least 30 minutes three times within a week. (source)

4) Reduction in stress and anxiety

In 2012, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology And Metabolism published a study that highlighted the correlation between short 30-minute naps during the day and the consequences of stress in adults. It also took into account whether it is possible for this naps to repair any damage caused by having a poor night sleep.

For those adults who napped, their stress hormones and other biological indicators were taken and compared with those of the control group.

One of the three stress hormones measured was noradrenaline and according to the research, there was an increase of noradrenaline in adults who didn't have enough sleep, but the reverse was the case when they were allowed to nap.

Also, men who napped had an increase in their level of interleukin-6, but there was a decrease in the level of interleukin-6 for those who didn't. Interleukin-6 is the protein responsible for improving immune responses. (source)

5) Improves perception, learning and reasoning

In 2007, the Journal of Sports Sciences published a study that proved that having a coffee nap (also known as a caffeine nap) after a lunch is highly effective for improving perception, learning, reasoning and even physical performance.

The study involved ten healthy adults who were deprived of night sleep but napped for 30 minutes in the afternoon specifically between 1pm and 1:30pm

After their naps, each of these men were made to go through various performance tests, and they were found to have improved in scores on a short test, heart rate, short-term memory, and alertness. (source)