
Coffee naps are better than coffee or naps alone - dctoedt
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/28/6074177/coffee-naps-caffeine-science
======
pqs
This is a well known practise in Spain. I com from Spain and I have always
seen my family (parents and grandparents) drinking coffee after lunch and,
then, doing a nap on the couch. Usually, we sit on the couch, take the coffee
together and then every person takes a newspaper or magazine and after a few
minutes of pseudo-reading everybody is sleeping or in a state of deep
relaxation. We sleep for 20 minutes. That's all. I guess this is very common
in Spain.

This works well because we often take lunch at home. But, now that I have
lunch at the office, I do the same. I have a 1 hour pause. The first half hour
I have lunch, then I take the coffee and I go to the office to sleep on the
floor, on a very thin mattress. If my brain is too active, I listen to a
foreign radio station with my iPhone. I like to listen to ICI Radio Canada (in
French). When I have lunch here, they broadcast the morning news and
commentary. The news are about stuff happening in Quebec. It is interesting
enough for me to forget the work stuff, and dull enough to induce me into a
deeper relaxation state, which allows me to fall sleep fast. Being the
broadcast in a foreing language, also helps to fall sleep. I often dream
during this 20-30 minutes naps.

An interesting detail is that I had to learn this habit. I remember being a
child and being pissed off because I wasn't allowed to make noise after lunch.
Now, that I'm a father, the roles are changing and I'm the one sleeping after
lunch.

By the way, at night, in order to fall sleep, I never take phones, tablets or
computers to my bedroom. Instead, I take a shortwave radio and I tune the BBC
world service news (fortunately, in Spain we can hear the broadcast directed
to Africa). I put a 30 minutes timer on the radio and I almost never hear it
stopping, because I fall sleep before. The day that the BBC will shut the SW
broadcast, I guess I will take a bluetooth headset or speaker to my bedroom,
but not the iPhone. It is very important to avoid computers in the bedroom.

~~~
ConnorG
I was an avid napper back at college and thoroughly employed the coffee nap
technique. Now I'm in the workforce, but my body is still yearning for naps at
work. I find myself drifting off here and there, but never fully commit.

I'm afraid to take a full nap at work due to how it may look. Do you find
yourself being judged for taking naps at work?

~~~
swombat
You can take surprisingly good naps sitting in a toilet cubicle - I did so for
many months at Accenture and never had a problem. It energised me and enabled
me to do better work the rest of the time.

~~~
TeMPOraL
I thought I was the only one weird enough person in the world to actually nap
in a toilet. I can say a lot of good things about my company work culture, but
unfortunately, naps in the middle of the work day are frowned upon there.

------
ArcticCelt
I wish I was able to take naps. Do people can really fall asleep on command
just like that when they have some spare minutes in their day? Shit, even when
I am sleep deprived, I can barely fall asleep in my own bed, sometimes it
literally take me hours.

When I manage to take a nap it's usually involuntary by falling asleep in
front of the TV.

~~~
kirse
It just takes practice. For a nap, it helps to unwind quickly by focusing on
deep breathing and allowing your mind to wander.

During a nap you're not trying to lose consciousness as if you're "totally
asleep" either. It's almost like you're hypnotizing yourself into a deep state
of relaxation. A pair of sunglasses or sleep mask can also help to reduce any
daytime light to make it easier.

Practice it for a year, you'll be an expert after that and have a highly
valuable skill.

This guy has all you could ever hope to know on becoming a Master of Sleep:
[http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm](http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm)

~~~
themodelplumber
I agree, it takes practice. I can't let my mind wander though. If I want to
take a nap in the middle of the day I have to consciously visualize something.
The visualization that has worked best for me over the last year has been
sitting in my childhood home, assembling the tail section of a scale model
Su-24. The end product looks a lot like this one:
[http://paperwings.orgfree.com/su24/index.htm](http://paperwings.orgfree.com/su24/index.htm)
(except I never finish it, just doze off)

The sleep is worth the practice :)

~~~
Sammi
Well there is a right and wrong way to let you mind wander. The right way is
what is taught in Mindfulness meditation. It requires hard training, and I'm
not very good at it (yet I hope).

The "trick" is to let you mind wander without intentionally thinking about
anything, but just letting thoughts float on by without getting attached to
any one of them. Just notice all the different things your mind is bringing
up, and let it happen, without grabbing hold of any one thought.

My big problem is that I have a strong inner voice that is explaining or
narrating almost all that I do. This voice if focusing my thoughts, so I need
to stop talking inside my head for this to work. I kind of just need to shut
up and watch my thoughts instead :)

~~~
jmagoon
Just a note: that inner voice is also a thought. A strongly habituated one,
certainly, but still just a thought. You don't need to stop 'talking', just
take a step back, so to speak, and watch that voice and it will gradually
dissolve on its own (over time, it will get less demanding on your attention).

------
300
I found this by experience few years ago. It works. At first, I started with
naps, and drinking coffee after. Accidentally I had few times coffee before
nap, and noticed the difference.

But I don't recommend this kind of nap all the time - because after a while
it's not that effective.

So, after years of napping (I'm an expert - I became so good at napping, that
I can fall a sleep in 1-2 minutes, and wake up without alarm after 15-20
minutes), my advice would be: take a nap after lunch, between 1 and 3pm,
without coffee before nap. Only in special situations, when you are under high
pressure and lots of work, take "coffee nap" as they call it in the article.

~~~
jisaacks
> I can fall a sleep in 1-2 minutes, and wake up without alarm after 15-20
> minutes

Any advice on how you were able to achieve this ability? I always try to take
a quick nap but can never fall asleep fas t enough for it to be effective.

~~~
crb3
Two techniques from my experience:

\- 'walk back' in your mind to center yourself away from forebrain activity
and visual activity (this is a visualization technique)

\- cover your back with something insulated and/or warm. The less your back is
staying tensed against chill air, the more physically relaxed you can be. I
have a Thinsulate-filled sleeping bag that I use like a throw for this as it
reflects body heat better than a comforter. Sleeping on a sofa, up against the
back cushions, and noticing how it was good for naps, was what alerted me to
this one.

~~~
Widow
I noticed this when I started sleeping with my back against a body pillow. I
wonder if it has anything to do with wanting to sleep with pressure around our
bodies?

~~~
crb3
That's not universal. I've read that infants / small children tend to like
sleeping while wrapped / confined. This adult: not so much. (Part of that is
probably the Minuteman attitude I've adopted since becoming a single parent a
couple of decades back. Anything which interfered with my ability to quickly
respond to / protect my kids had to go.)

I do think it's the warmth. Part of our maintaining constant muscular tension
is maintaining body heat. While we do seem to want to chill down slightly for
sleep -- my observation, based on how often I'd nap on the bus and awaken
sweaty, and I seem to recall reading something about that -- IME that tension
does noticeably interfere with quickly getting to sleep.

------
virtuabhi
I have read this before. I do not understand how you can sleep for 20 minutes.
It takes more than 15 minutes just to fall asleep.

~~~
DaniFong
Read this carefully: I used to think this way as well. This thinking lead me
to the exact wrong strategy for naps.

There are many stages of sleep; stage 1 through 4, and REM sleep. These, it is
hypothesized, have distinct physiological functions. Most importantly for this
discussion, waking up out of each have very different effects.

Waking from stage 1 sleep makes you feel immediately refreshed, and people
perform better immediately have tests of mental acuity. This is also true of
REM sleep; additionally you often remember dreams.

Stage 2 is also good. A good 30 minutes afterwards, you will feel better
rested, and your mental acuity will rise; for longer than from stage 1, but it
is a delayed effect.

But if you wake up out of a deeper sleep cycle, you get 'sleep inertia.'
Mental acuity plummets. You feel poorly rested and ill.

The problem:

The body is often not even aware that you are sleeping in stage 1 sleep. You
are in a different physiological stage, but you may not have lost
consciousness.

You usually are in this stage from minute 5 onto minute 10. And in stage two
up to about 15-20 minutes. After that, you can fall into a deeper sleep; which
waking up from is very problematic.

I used to set my alarm for 30 minutes. I'd way up, feel even more tired, and
set my alarm for 30 minutes _again_. This was ruining my life.

\---

tl;dr

Even if you don't lose consciousness, you can still be 'sleeping' and a nap of
20 minutes will greatly help you feel healthy and well rested.

~~~
hanley
I always had difficulty finding the correct amount of time to nap for where I
would wake up feeling refreshed and not drowsy, until I read about Dali
napping with a spoon in his hand. The idea is that you hold the spoon off the
bed/couch so that as soon as you start to drop past stage 2, your hand
releases the spoon, it falls to the floor and wakes you up.

I now do this combined with a caffeine nap (green tea) and it works perfectly.
There's a point where I deep in my conscious I realize I'm dropping the item.
As it hits the floor my eyes open, and I feel refreshed almost immediately
afterwards. The time for me is about 25-27 minutes from laying down to the
drop.

~~~
DaniFong
That's awesome!

------
blutoot
What is the tolerance level for naps in silicon valley companies (both big and
small)? Does it depend on the role/position? Wouldn't they rather have all
their employees down mugs of coffee instead of taking even a quick nap?

------
tempestn
Is there any downside to doing this? It seems like there must be a _reason_
why the adenosine signals that it's time to sleep - like your brain actually
needs that rest to recuperate properly after activity. Does a "coffee nap" (or
caffeine in general) lead to increased fatigue once the effects wear off?

Although I guess to some extent if you're going to ignore the sleep signal
otherwise, there likely isn't much harm in feeling alert while doing so,
except inasmuch as the alert feeling causes you to tax your brain more than
you otherwise would.

~~~
Retric
Natural sleep cycles vary not just by person but also by age. There is some
evidence that a small community with 0 to 70 year olds will always have
someone awake. Which would seem like a likely survival adaptation. Which
suggests sleep cycles may relate to more than just biological need.

~~~
electromagnetic
I've read this before too, I cant remember where. Basically your 25-50 year
old typically sleeps from about midnight to 8am. Teens and young adults
typically sleep much later, with the "crack of dawn" not being uncommon and
the elderly typically awake at the "crack of dawn".

Basically most preditors are active either just after dark, or in the late
morning.

Teens are typically strong (a 13 year old male is as strong as your average
adult female), alert and they have the best vision, and noise making in the
night would keep predators and scavengers away. Evening predators likely
weren't a great risk, but scavengers definitely would be an issue.

Adults are obviously the strongest and most alert, and are awake when the most
dangerous animals are also awake: lions, tigers, hippos, etc.

The elderly are our weakest, their vision is poor and their alertness becomes
questionable. However, there's theories we live so long after infertility sets
in specifically for the reason they care for the young. Both infants and the
elderly have surprisingly similar sleeping patterns. Predators are least
active in the early mornings and so are most dangers. Insects and reptiles
(venomous things) are least active in the coldest hours of the day, which is
right around dawn.

------
Multiplayer
The Jawbone up is the BOMB of all bombs for taking naps. Put it in nap mode
and it waits for you to fall asleep before setting the alarm. So you can get a
proper nap without wondering whether you're taking too long to fall asleep,
etc.

It can also attempt to time your nap based on your latest sleep patterns. No
idea how effective this is.

I love this thing just for it's nap mode.

------
mmanfrin
After a couple months of protracted late nights at a startup I worked for, I
came up with an idea for a place which would offer by-the-hour
nap+shower+coffee pods. You'd go in, pay $20 or whatever, have access to a
shower and a bed, and at the end (or beginning) you'd get a coffee of your
choice (if after, it would be ready for you when your nap was over).

I think this could do really well in Soma or the Financial District in SF.
Just gotta enforce one-person-one-rule so that it doesnt become a place for
prostitution.

~~~
lilsunnybee
So like a love hotel
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel)),
but sans coupling. Or like a capsule hotel
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel)),
but with attached shower.

Even on non-prime real-estate (which does that exist in SF?), I don't think
you could hit your $20 price point with the amount of housekeeping needed for
a bed _and_ shower. Even if you could, after a week your staff might hate you.
:-)

~~~
goblin89
> So like a love hotel
> ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel)),
> but sans coupling. Or like a capsule hotel
> ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel)),
> but with attached shower.

To be fair, they say Japanese love hotels allow single guests
([https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan#Love_hotels](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan#Love_hotels))
and capsule hotels have showers
([https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan#Capsule_hotels](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan#Capsule_hotels)).

I don't doubt, though, that even in Japan there's a niche for specifically
targeted establishments of the kind described by grandparent.

~~~
lilsunnybee
Capsule hotels don't usually have attached showers though do they? It's more
of a communal thing, which maybe that would work just fine for what mmanfrin
was thinking of. Though historically Americans aren't as accustomed to
communal bathing (well except for gyms) as the Japanese.

------
staunch
> _...it takes around 20 minutes for the caffeine to get through your
> gastrointestinal tract and bloodstream anyway._

This isn't really true, right? On an empty stomach a strong coffee seems to
get me high as a kite in about two minutes.

I've been doing this coffee+nap thing for a long time. It definitely works for
me. My trick for falling asleep reliably and quickly is listening to an
audiobook.

~~~
crb3
How do you drink your coffee? If you sugar it, you're not dealing with just
the caffeine.

~~~
staunch
I don't but how would sugar beat caffeine into the blood stream?

~~~
adricnet
Absorption of some nutrients happens in the mouth and gums. Perhaps the poster
is speculating that sugar (simple carbs?) molecules might be quickly absorbed
into the bloodstream through the mouth and esophagus while caffeine has to be
digested in the stomach?

------
rootbear
I have read before that drinking coffee before a short nap is a good
combination. It's nice to read that someone has actually tested it. I can't
always do it at work but I have used this method at home and it works well.
One other suggestion I follow is that I don't take short naps lying down. That
encourages my body to go into a longer, deeper sleep. I nap sitting in a comfy
chair, in a quiet, dim room if possible. It's very refreshing; I'm more alert
and productive for the rest of the day.

------
MichaelGG
This works well with other stimulants and other medications too. Take
methylphenidate and an opioid, take a quick nap, wake up feeling fantastic.

It's also got emotional benefits. If you are feeling down, then simply waiting
for the medicine to do its job can make things worse, as your mind goes in a
negative spiral. Taking a nap _can_ give you peace that you're just putting
everything aside and going to concentrate on the warmth of the nap and a
dream. And before you know it, bam - everything's perfect again.

------
duffx
Keep in mind that after 2-3 weeks of habitual coffee drinking, your body
acclimates to the effects of caffeine and you no longer receive a performance
benefit. At that point all drinking coffee does for you is ward off the
effects of withdrawal and return you to baseline performance levels - until
the effects wear off and withdrawal kicks in again, at which point your
performance is below average.

Caffeine is best used strategically, which means not every day. Save it for
days where you're feeling particularly low energy, or need a boost to tackle a
problem you're not particularly excited about doing.

That said, the half-life of caffeine is around 6 hours, which means if you
have a coffee at 3pm, at 3am you still have a quarter-cup's worth of caffeine
in your system, preventing you from entering deep sleep. So even then I'd keep
caffeine as a first-thing-in-the-morning type of deal.

Naps I'm a big fan of. I take one every day after lunch. The trick is to
simply lay down and close your eyes for 20 minutes. Don't worry if you fall
asleep or not - just give your eyes a rest. For the first few days/weeks, you
might not fall asleep. But eventually your body grows accustomed to the ritual
and it becomes easier to actually fall asleep at hat time.

------
copperx
I have found that a Provigil/Nuvigil nap works wonders. Take a Provigil and
take a nap. When you wake up you'll be crisp morning-fresh.

~~~
dredwerker
What is Provigil? (I am in Australia) Is it like dexedrine or something?

~~~
tonyedgecombe
A prescription medicine for people with sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.

~~~
johnward
They prescribe modafinil for sleep apnea? I have apnea and I'm curious because
I've never heard this. I've heard it is used for narcolepsy.

------
danelectro
I support the napping for productivity without having artificial stimulants
(OK, natural organic drugs) involved.

The studies likely involved mostly habitual users rather than unindoctrinated
subjects, but from the abstracts' documentation it is difficult to be sure.
Perhaps the researchers did not recognize the distinction and just selected
random participants, therefore likely to include mostly habitual users.

When I was a caffeine addict (habitual user) I could also sleep after
ingestion.

In fact without a fix right before bedtime it was more difficult to get to
sleep because nominal concentration level was unsatisfied, resulting more in
agitation than identifiable craving. A nice hit would actually help me relax.
I was not the only one who could relate to this as an indication of true
addiction, where you need the substance just to be normal.

Complete withdrawal took a few weeks (of hellish tiredness, achiness, and
irritability) but after this it was even easier to more alertly conduct high-
stamina activities and out-perform my still-addicted colleagues without the
toxic load on my system.

Sleep & nap much more productively without it after kicking the habit too.

Sure can write a lot better code when drug (addiction) free as well.

When I do feel it's necessary (never for marathon coding), a single cup of
coffee (after I have already been awake 24hrs and need a little boost)
naturally keeps my otherwise drug-free system awake for the next 24hrs easily
which can be helpful for things like long-distance driving once or twice per
year. As an addict I would have needed two or three times my nominal habitual
doses to feel as alert on those same lonely roads.

To me coding does not benefit from this type of non-stop alertness, even if
you are working to exhaustion, when tiredness truly comes a plain nap is
better whether it is after 6hrs, 12hrs, 20hrs, whatever, then freshly go into
another session, exahustion relieved.

Same with driving too, but if the schedule is too tight, a couple times a year
will not make you a habitual user like everyday dosage does. I'd rather drive
slow for long hours than exceed the speed limit, waste energy, and prematurely
wear out my machinery.

YMMV [0] but just because everybody does caffeine won't make it good for you,
especially in the long run.

[0] depending largely on body weight, metabolism, and dosage, and for driving,
road speed

------
jqm
(from the article) "energy drinks are disgusting.."

I disagree. Monsters in particular I find delicious. (I try not to drink them
often though... they tend to really hype me up then wear me out not long
after).

~~~
johnward
I don't like monster but rockstar zero carb or sugar free does it for me. Also
anything sugar free with erythritol as a sweetener is gross to me. It tastes
way sweeter than sugar.

I wish I could acquire a taste for coffee because it seems like the healthiest
way to get caffeine, but if I have to load it with sugar and cream it defeats
the point.

------
djtriptych
I thought I invented this 5 years ago during a weeklong coding sprint before a
live demo. I called it a red bull nap but otherwise it was exactly the same.
They are amazing.

------
smegmalife
Hardest part for me is falling asleep in such a short period of time,
especially during the day. When I have succeeded with these naps, it's been
amazing.

------
ollysb
This is definitely how siesta time goes in Southern Spain. It seemed an odd
habbit when I was introduced to it but it definitely does the job.

------
vegancap
I don't know if it's just me but, how the hell do you nap?! I tried once, and
I was still wide awake when my alarm that was supposed to wake me up from my
hour long nap went off. I'd have to be really drunk, or not have slept for
days in order to nap. I don't understand how people just nap on queue, I feel
like I'm missing a trick here :(

------
jdnier
I have noticed this occasionally on weekends, when the luxury of a nap is more
practical. I'll have a small late-morning coffee, feel cozy/sleepy, then nap
briefly and wake up refreshed. Seemed crazy at the time. I'd guess you need to
feel somewhat tired for this to work (and I am able to fall asleep quickly).

------
giardini
For those who have trouble falling asleep quickly I recommend good earplugs, a
quiet place where you can nap undisturbed and a dark opaque towel or cloth
with which you can cover your eyes and block light completely. Given that,
there's little to prevent sleep once you've settled in.

------
cheald
Caffeine naps are my secret "crunch time" weapon. It's astounding how
effective they are - it feels like a reboot. I wake up feeling like I've been
out for 8 hours. The effect only lasts for a couple of hours post-nap, but
it's often enough to get you over the hump.

------
iandanforth
I use this napping mp3. White noise for about 23 minutes followed by silence
then animal sounds. It's fun give it a try.
[http://www.grelly.com/napping/Polynap5_23_minutes.mp3](http://www.grelly.com/napping/Polynap5_23_minutes.mp3)

------
rhema
I've done this many times. It's really quite refreshing. I made a habit of
this after lunch for a time. It helped give me an extra 3 or 4 hours of high
productivity. The only downside is that it's better to chug the coffee, rather
than sip it slowly.

------
mzs
Works great on road trips, I need to be just right amount of tired for it to
work for me though then stop at a diner like Waffle House, get a bite and a
coffee, head back to the car and nod off for a spell. You wake-up peculiarly
alert.

------
darkmethod
I can attest to this. I've done this several times for the energy boost. I
didn't know there is a name for it; "coffee nap". I tend to add dance/techno
music to know when to wake up and get back to work.

------
Bahamut
This is anecdotal, but I discovered this in undergrad - I would drink coffee
before a class, and end up falling asleep briefly during a lecture, and then
end up wide awake the rest of the time and more. It really does wonders.

------
cylinder
What's the point? Unless you work at Google, at home, or at a super trendy
startup, or in your own big office with a sofa in it, this doesn't really mean
anything for you because you have no place to take a nap.

------
educated_idiot
Can confirm it works. Have done this often in about 3-4 years. It's easy to
fall asleep really fast if you are actually tired (physically or
mentally)...doesn't work if you are just bored and wanna pep yourself up.

------
halfcat
How long can coffee napping be used, and what are the after effects?

The article says the test subjects used it to good effect for 24 hours. I
wonder if the following day was a compete productivity waste.

------
cgtyoder
Serious Question: What can I do where I really need to do this in the
afternoon (and would of course really increase productivity), but I'm not
allowed to nap at work?

~~~
halfcat
Best bet is to leave work for lunch. Sit in your car if you have one, wearing
sunglasses. Best if your car has tinted windows. If your building has a
parking garage, that is ideal, less chance of random person thinking you are
dead and calling the cops. If you don't have a car, bathroom stalls might
work, if you can find a clean spot where you can sit on the toilet and lean
your head against the stall wall. Wiping down the area where you lay your head
with hand sanitizer might be a good move. Some libraries have private rooms
you can reserve for studying. If it's too hard at your job, you may have to
decide whether it's worth changing jobs. It sounds silly, but if taking a
siesta would have a significant positive impact on your productivity (and it
does for many people), then changing jobs is a reasonable step IMO.

------
shire
It's hard for me to just take a nap on command in the middle of the day. I
wish it was easy for me because a nap would help a lot.

------
shimon_e
Sounds like this would pair well with specially designed time release caffeine
capsules that release 20 minutes before you wake up.

------
scelerat
A 20 minute nap does way more for me than a cup of coffee, but this is a
promising approach I'll definitely try.

------
jonwachob91
Common practice in elite military units for putting off proper sleep for long
periods of time.

------
fluff3141592653
Hmmph! No Thanks. Coffee makes me sort of nervous when I drink it. -Slingblade

------
bernardlunn
I knew this worked in practice, now I understand how it works in theory.

------
snarfy
When I tried this as a teenager I ended up having lucid dreams.

------
kbart
It's thought this practice is a common knowledge, strange that it's "news". I
have been using this for years.

------
cmdrfred
No shit.

------
Dewie
I'm thinking of putting a mattress beneath my desk/cubicle. I have a hard time
falling asleep on command or taking naps at all. Maybe properly lying down
instead of lying kind of uncomfortably on the floor will help with that.

This is in a university setting, so I have no managers to worry about. The
only problem might be noise (I often sleep with earplugs anyway), and weird
looks.

------
x0x0
coffee naps? It's like Joseph is talking to my heart.

