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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.
Drink some caffeine, then take a 10-25 minute nap, and you will feel rested, and your cognitive abilities will significantly improve throughout the rest of your day.
You may be scratching your head when you read this. Napping for 10-25 minutes during the lowest lagged portion of your day can give you about a three-hour reboot; adding some caffeine before the nap can give you a six-hour reboot. I will tell you upfront that caffeine takes about 25 minutes to metabolize, so consuming caffeine right before napping will not impact your ability to fall asleep but will give an added boost to that nap.
Recently I have researched both the effective ways of using caffeine to avoid its impact on sleep and using naps in a way that doesn’t affect the nighttime sleep pattern. Is it possible to use both, together or separately, to fight daytime fatigue and improve cognition? Several studies describe both the effective use of caffeine and how to take naps effectively. Two books informed my research into caffeine and naps. Michael Pollan’s recent book “This Is Your Mind on Plants” provided great information on the cognitive-enhancing effects of caffeine, and Daniel Pink’s book “WHEN The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing provides a way to combine caffeine and naps into what he calls the Nappuccino. I highly recommend you check out Daniel Pink’s book to learn ways of improving your daily efficiency.
Those who take naps may be perceived as lazy, yet as they spend those 25 minutes napping while others stay awake working hard, they will provide more productive results after waking from the nap than those who try and push through and produce under fatigue. A 2007 study found that a 20-30 min afternoon nap lowered heart rate and body temperature, increased alertness, sleepiness, short-term memory, and increased accuracy on cognitive tests.
Naps can only effectively improve human performance when conducted at the right time and only lasting between 10-25 minutes. If you go beyond 25 minutes, you risk feeling even more fatigued and experience a decrease in cognition due to the chemical changes occurring in the nervous system as your body enters into a deep sleep.
Napping for 10-25 minutes creates the same physiological changes in the brain and body as mindfulness or meditation, plus much more. For those 10-25 minutes, your body only stays within the first two stages of the four stages of sleep. The body reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, also known as your fight, flight, or freeze resulting in a decrease in the release of stress hormones such as cortisol. The parasympathetic nervous system becomes active, releasing the feel-good hormones such as dopamine and serotonin.
This causes the heart rate to decrease; the breathing rate normalizes, and digestion increases. If we were to look at the brain during this time, we would see more positive activity in the brain’s frontal lobes, essentially resetting your cognitive abilities. When your alarm goes off after the nap, you will feel rested and feel improved cognitive skills.
Now here is the danger of napping past 25 minutes. After about 25 minutes of sleep, your body begins to pass through the first two stages of sleep into stages three, deep sleep, and four, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) this is known as Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). During SWS, chemical changes occur through the central nervous system that increases fatigue. We pass through all four stages at night in about 90 minutes and go through this cycle 3-4 times. If you are awakened during stages 3-4, you will feel exhausted and confused.
This confusion is called sleep inertia or sleep drunkenness. If your nap goes beyond 25 minutes, you will wake up feeling exhausted and confused because specific systems within the nervous system responsible for alertness and wakefulness are becoming inactive. These systems are restored when passing from stage four back to stage one. The orexin neurons and the noradrenergic processes are responsible for influencing alertness and wakefulness; these two processes become inactive during deep sleep. The deactivation of orexin neurons and the noradrenergic function after 25 minutes of sleep is why it’s imperative not to nap longer than 25 minutes. Now each person is different, and you may find that you fall into a deep sleep at 15 minutes. You can only determine your sleep stage duration by testing this out. If you feel tired and confused upon napping for 25 minutes, decrease your nap time to 15 minutes.
In his book, Daniel Pink provides a guide to using the Nappaccino and you can download a guide on his website at this link. First, it is critical to take a nap at the right time during the day. It must occur during a time where you begin to feel a physical and cognitive decline. A 2010 study found that napping in the afternoon would have the least effect on the circadian rhythm. However, one thing I would add to applying Daniel Pink’s Nappaccinno is to not use this past 3 pm as caffeine consumption this late into the day can impact your sleep at night. Caffeine can stay in your system anywhere from 6-10 hours. Having caffeine in your system during sleep affects sleep onset and impacts SWS, and will create more fatigue upon waking up.
I recommend you check out Daniel Pink’s book for more understanding of his Nappaccino concept. Daniel Pink suggests preparing for the nap by ensuring you have a location with little light and sound. Or you can wear earplugs and an eye mask. He explains that you will first consume your caffeine, set your timer, then takes your nap. Pink also suggests that you must do this routinely at the same time every day. Immediate effects can be felt with each nap, but over time the results will significantly increase as your brain begins to adapt and learn your napping routine. You can try the naps without caffeine and see how you feel, but adding caffeine to the nap can double the effectiveness. Plan for it, do it daily, and reflect on your results. If this works for you share it with others.
[…] and how to use it effectively. Be sure to check out the Nappaccino in this article at this link. Taking naps is a form of sleep banking as well. After DST has passed and you struggle with […]