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The information on this website is designed to offer self-care tips and recommendations based on evidence-based research and literature from professionals in each field. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any health-related decisions.
Insomnia, staying up late for work or recreation, or events such as daylight-saving time can influence daytime fatigue. A simple technique can help you stay focused and alert when you find yourself highly sleepy during the day. Studies focusing on caffeine and napping have demonstrated that we can fight off fatigue through the intelligent use of caffeine and napping.
In his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink shares a technique that increases cognition and daytime energy by combining caffeine and napping. He calls it the nappuccino. You may be scratching your head, wondering how taking a nap is possible under the influence of the stimulant caffeine. However,
it takes approximately twenty-five minutes for caffeine to metabolize, and your nap will only last twenty minutes. Daniel Pink says in his book that a ten to twenty-five-minute nap can give you about a three-hour energy reboot. Consuming some caffeine before the nap can double this time.
I tested out his theory, and it does indeed work! Try it for yourself. There are some guidelines for the nappuccino to be effective and not impact your nighttime sleep quality. You should avoid using this technique after about 3 p.m. A study titled The Effects of Napping on Cognitive Functioning found that taking naps within 6-7 hours before bedtime can affect your circadian rhythm, making it difficult to fall asleep at night and increasing nighttime awakenings.
The timing in which you consume caffeine is a crucial consideration as well. Caffeine can stay in your system for up to ten hours. However, the half-life is three to five hours or the time it takes to lose half of its potency. For this reason, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends stopping caffeine consumption six hours before bed. Some of you may still be able to drink caffeine close to bedtime and have no problem falling asleep. However, caffeine affects melatonin production, can reduce the time spent in the deep sleep stage, and is proven to cause fatigue and grogginess when waking up in the morning.
Another guideline is the amount of time you spend napping. You want your body to stay within the first two stages of sleep. Entering deep sleep, the third stage of sleep, while napping, will cause you to feel more fatigued when waking and cause a feeling of sleep drunkenness. On average, one takes about 25 minutes to enter the deep sleep stage. This is why keeping your nap under 25 minutes is crucial.
For me, I found that twenty-five minutes was too long. Fifteen to twenty minutes was the sweet spot for me. Test it out for yourself and see how you feel. If you nap for twenty-five minutes and are groggy, try decreasing your nap time.
In my new book, Self-Health Andragogy: A Self-Directed Learning Approach to Mental and Physical Self-Care, you can learn a lot more about sleep and tips to improve your sleep.
