Through my years as a student, I’ve often found myself at that point during a late night study session when it’s time to make a crucial decision—to chug a cup of coffee or take a quick nap. Well, I heard through the grapevine a few years back that it may actually be best to do both. But, while a “caffeine nap” might be most effective for keeping you awake, newer research suggests that a nap without the extra jolt may be the best remedy to combat sleepiness during activities like studying.
Image from Microsoft Online Image Gallery (provided by iStockphoto)
In a 1996 study conducted at Loughborough University in the UK, a team of sleep researchers found that both short naps (approximately 15 minutes long) and consumption of caffeine (roughly 1-2 cups of coffee worth) significantly reduced driving impairment, individually reported levels of sleepiness, and brain patterns associated with being drowsy. Following these results, the researchers conducted a similar study this time looking to see if the positive results of caffeine and naps against driver drowsiness could be maximized by using them together. Based on this follow-up research, it was determined that the combination provided even better results than either caffeine or a nap on its own, and thus the caffeine nap was born.
In case you’ve never heard of a caffeine nap, here’s what to do: Start by drinking enough of a caffeinated beverage in order to get about 150mg of caffeine, and then follow it up with a short snooze of no more than 15-20 minutes. The logic here is that longer naps might allow you to dip into a deeper sleep that leaves you feeling more groggy than refreshed when you wake. Plus, that time frame is just long enough to get the caffeine into your blood stream and off to work in your brain giving you a bonus boost of energy after the nap.
Seems reasonable enough, but newer studies have found limitations to the caffeine nap, like this one that examines how caffeine and naps impact memory. The original studies from Loughborough University were conducted in hopes of finding a solution to keep drivers alert and reduce the number of auto accidents resulting from tired drivers getting behind the wheel, so they only tested driving ability and measures of sleepiness, not learning or memory. In the more recent study, sleepy subjects were taught three tasks aimed to test verbal, motor, and perceptual memory. After learning the tasks each person consumed caffeine, took a nap, or had neither, and then they were tested on the activities they had learned. The group that had caffeine did the worst, while the nap group did the best.
As it turns out, caffeine may interfere with the brain processes involved in forming explicit memories, like learning and recalling words from a list, while naps actually promote memory development. So while there is evidence that a caffeine nap can make you feel less sleepy and help you drive extra miles on a trip, the effects of caffeine on memory formation may actually hurt your ability to study and retain the information you learn. Next time my eyelids get heavy and I still have a few chapters to get through, it seems I should skip the coffee all together and catch a couple Zs instead.
[Of course, I should mention that sleep loss adds up over time and the consequences can have a big impact on your health, both in the short-term and the future. Remedies like naps and caffeine are only a temporary fix for tiredness, not a substitution for a good night’s sleep!]
{ 18 comments }
Interesting the way this got parsed out. And that you can use the strategies differently. Long driving trips you try one method, exam tomorrow another one.
Well done explanation–new to me.
Can I suggest one thing though? I prefer to also see the references at the bottom–I can have a quick look at the quality of the publication, the author list, etc. Not that those are definitive, of course. But if the study was from the Journal of HomeoQuackery or something I’m gonna want to know that before chasing it down more.
Also, if you use science blogging aggregators like ResearchBlogging or Science Seeker you are going to get more eyeballs.
Thanks for your feedback, Mary!
So great that you wrote about the fabled oxymoron of the coffee nap, Ashley! (Jumbo shrimp to go with that? Serious jokes?) My family argued about this seeming paradox at Thanksgiving and Christmas, although one relative claimed a hallucinatory aspect you don’t get into here…
I was able to follow your explanatory path of various findings well. But I wondered how many cups of joe that 150 mg represented, and whether the length of the nap mattered in the third example. I know you give links for me to go looking, but I’m lazy
I also wondered about your bracketed warnings at the end–why bracketed? Are you not sure, or not sure you should say?
Still, of all the great topics this group has taken on, this is one of the most lively–and fuel for both sides, so the argument can continue.
MB
Thanks for your comments, MB! As far as why I put the last part in brackets, I felt like it was an additional point that though clearly related to the topic of the post, kinda veered onto a different track so I wanted to keep it separated, like a disclaimer of sorts.
Great title….this drew me in.
Good job with your explanation of the article too.
Thanks for reading, Paula!
Thank you for this well-written post! Should probably pass this information on to colleagues and students… ; )
Thanks for your comments, Angela! I hope others will find it interesting as well!
Liked your post a lot!!! You give both sides with arguments, and it is easy to read. My suggestion: instead if putting “this study” as a hyperlink, you can name the study and/or put it in the references. I read your posts in an IPad, and going back and forth may be tedious,
.
I didn’t think about the implications of reading on a tablet, so thanks for mentioning that, Patricia. Glad you enjoyed the post!
I thought your post was well written and clearly referenced. I disagree that the study titles need to be cited in the text (as opposed to just linked) but agree at the list of references should be collected somewhere on the page. As a followup, I am curious to know your thoughts on these findings for sleep deprivation and studying as compared to this –> http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/why-being-sleepy-and-drunk-are-great-for-creativity/?intcid=story_ribbon
Kill and drill, take a nap. Need to innovate, stay up late?
Thank you for sharing that link, Lali–very interesting! The prefrontal cortex is responsible for quite a lot of our functioning, but I never considered the way in which its control could potentially inhibit useful stray thoughts. As for studying, I suppose, as the article alludes, it depends on what type of work you’re doing. Sometimes I find it useful to call it a night to clear my head when I’m struggling through something and then go back at it in the morning; looks like there’s more benefit to that method than just taking a mental break!
What a fun topic! I think we’ve all faced that difficult decision between sleep and caffeine, so this was great to read a scientific discussion on the issue. I particularly liked that you didn’t simply describe a single study’s findings, but provided additional background from the earlier studies. This made your account flow well as a logical, progressive story – very easy to follow.
The one thing that seemed a bit misleading was the statement that “newer studies have found limitations to the caffeine nap”, like the Mednick et al, 2008 study. Your description indicates that this study only investigated the effects of caffeine and napping separately, but not the effects of caffeine and napping together. It’s possible that the two could have interactive effects and I wonder if there were other studies that examined the “caffeine nap” directly?
Overall, well written and engaging post on a fun and relevant question!
As far as the studies I came across in my research, there weren’t any that I saw that actually studied the caffeine nap itself. I suppose that it’s entirely possible there could be some type of outcome that results from the specific interaction of caffeine and a nap…time for more research! Thanks for your comments, Emilie!
Enjoyed the post Ashley, I hate that feeling of fighting sleep when you are driving, even worse, the feeling of reaching your destination and not being able to remember going through certain towns along the way. Did I stop at red lights? Did I even slow down? I haven’t tried caffeine naps–I’m not sure I could sleep after ingesting caffeine. I would offer this tip as to how to stay awake while driving. When you feel sleepy, roll down your window and hold the largest bill you have in your wallet out that window–you will stay awake! Seriously, coffee helps, but there’s no substitute for a bed, and if you are a trucker, it’s the law.
Thanks for reading, Tim. I agree that fighting to stay awake while driving is torturous (and rather scary!). Thanks for the tip–I can see how that would keep you alert for sure!
I actually just learned about the “caffeine nap” recently. (I’m ashamed to say that after learning through your post that it’s based on a 1996 study!) I enjoyed getting to read a well-rounded summary of findings on the topic. Good job on covering different angles while maintaining a nice flow!
I will say that reading about the potential effects of caffeine on memory alarmed me! I thoroughly enjoy my daily coffee intake, which seems to just keep growing.
Don’t be ashamed, I learned about the caffeine nap not long ago myself! Thanks for reading!
Comments on this entry are closed.